Bhubaneswar: Amid the detection of bird flu cases in poultry, price of chicken has dropped in the city as its sale has gone down, while restaurants are experiencing a marginal drop in demand for chicken delicacies. While urging people not to panic, animal husbandry and veterinary services minister Gokulananda Mallik said those living outside areas where bird deaths have been recorded can consume chicken and eggs after cooking them properly.
Despite the minister’s assurance, vendors are witnessing a 30-40% drop in the sale of chicken. “Even price has also gone down from Rs 220 per kg last week to Rs 180-200 per kg on Wednesday. Customers who regularly buy from us are avoiding poultry products while hotels and restaurants have also reduced their orders,” Manoj Das, a poultry vendor at Nayapalli area in the city, said.
Mamata Mishra, a resident of Sastri Nagar, said, “My children are fond of chicken, but I have stopped serving it after the bird flu scare. I cook chicken at least twice a week and serve egg to the children five days a week as it is a rich source of protein. But since last week I have stopped consumption as a precautionary measure. Hope the situation will get back to normal soon.”
After the death of around 50 birds at Abalpur village in Puri district last week, the district administration culled around thousands of chickens and conducted intense surveillance within a 10km radius of the area. “As many as 30,000 chickens have been culled so far in Pipili and Satyabadi blocks and area with 10km radius has been sanitized and kept under strict surveillance. Compensation of Rs 20 for small chicken and Rs 70 for big chicken will be given to poultry farmers, whose birds were culled,” Mallik said.
“We conducted mapping within 1 km area where we culled every single bird found in houses, farms and shops. The restriction on sale of chicken and egg in the affected area will be there for three months. No poultry products will go out or enter the area for the next three months. Sanitization and surveillance in the area has been done while all poultry farmers have been asked to report any bird deaths immediately,” Nihar Naik, additional director of animal husbandry and veterinary services, said. There are over 500 poultry farms in Pipili and Satybadi blocks.
“Due to the outbreak of bird flu in intervals of one-and-a-half-years, poultry farmers are facing huge losses. We have been demanding a permanent solution or insurance facility for poultry farmers. The insurance companies are not insuring live birds unlike for other crops,” Pradyumna Parida, secretary of Odisha Poultry Farmers’ Development Forum, said.