AGARTALA, March 10 � The culling of poultry will begin at government-run Gandhigram poultry farm, 13 km from the capital town here on Sunday after confirmation of a fresh bird flu outbreak there, official sources confirmed here today.
This is for the second time the Animal Resource Development Department (ARDD) is going for culling of poultry during the last thee and half months. The last time it was at Lumbucherra ICAR complex.
�We have decided to begin culling after confirmation of the presence of H5N1 virus in the affected birds by High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL) in Bhopal last night�, said Director of ARDD Monaranjan Sarkar on Saturday.
The number of chicks at the poultry farm has reduced to 30 from 3,871 during the past one week raising alarm bells in the ARDD. �Blood samples of dead chicks was sent to the laboratory in Bhopal which confirmed outbreak of avian influenza in the Gandhigram farm�, he said.
However, Sarkar requested the people not to panic as all necessary precautionary measures have been taken to contain the bird flu outbreak.
Sarkar said that teams of Rapid Response Squad were asked to start culling within the farm premises. Earlier, culling was carried out at Lumbucherra ICAR and its adjacent areas on January 27 last.
The Gandhigram farm is not far from the Lumbucherra ICAR farm. Tripura first witnessed outbreak of avian influenza way back in 2008. At least 55,000 chicks and ducks were culled at Mohanpur and its adjacent villages of West Tripura district then.
