NEW DELHI: After reviewing the bird flu situation in the national capital, the Delhi government on Thursday decided to lift the ban on trade and import of poultry in the city.
It also allowed the Ghazipur poultry market, biggest supplier of poultry products in the country, to open after all samples taken from there tested negative for the avian flu.
The three municipal corporations, which had on Wednesday banned the sale and storage of poultry or processed chicken meat by shops and restaurants and warned these establishments of strict action, including cancellation of their licence, also lifted the ban.
“Samples taken from poultry markets have tested negative with respect to Bird Flu. Have directed to open the poultry market and withdraw the orders to restrict trade and import of chicken stocks,” Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is monitoring the situation personally, said in a tweet.
Earlier this week, the Delhi government had banned the import of any live bird into the city and ordered closure of Ghazipur poultry market for 10 days as a precautionary step in view of the pandemic.
The ban was imposed after a large number of ducks at Sanjay Lake and crows at various parks were found dead in the past several days.
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) which manages many parks and water bodies in the city has also closed them for public, after some crows were found positive for the virus in Dwarka.
According to sources in animal husbandry department, all the 100 samples collected from 35 poultry birds in the Ghazipur market have been found negative for the HPAI virus in the reports that came in from the designated lab in Jalandhar. However, bird flu is suspected in the remaining four samples taken from Hastsal Park and they have been sent from the Jalandhar-based lab to Bhopal for confirmation.