Rain hampers culling operations in West Bengal

Inclement weather conditions on Saturday hampered culling in West Bengal with the operations yet to begin in Purulia and Howrah districts where outbreak of avian influenza has been confirmed.

Culling operations which was to begin at 10 am on Saturday morning has been delayed by a few hours in Purulia due to the unseasonal rains.

Culling will be taken up at Kotaldi and Ramchandrapur villages of Santuri block of the district after some time, official sources said.

Four teams, each comprising of 10 members, have reached the blocks, District Magistrate Dipak Ranjan Kar said.

In Howrah district, where samples from Sankrail block tested positive for bird flu, two teams with a total 11 members have been formed for culling operations at Manickpur area.

The first team which was to begin work at 6 am and continue upto 11 am have not been able to start culling.

The bird flu was confirmed in Purulia and Howrah districts by the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory in Bhopal on Friday. The bird flu has gripped 11 out of the 19 districts of West Bengal.

The affected districts are Birbhum, South Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Nadia, Burdwan, Bankura, Malda, Coochbehar, Hooghly, Purulia and Howrah.

Culling was over in Hooghly, Burdwan, Bankura and South Dinajpur districts.

Nadia District Magistrate Omkar Singh Meena said of the total culling target of 2 lakh birds, 1.53 lakh birds were culled in the district till Friday evening. It was expected to be over within a short time, he said.

The target of completing culling operations in the district was hampered due to rains, reports said.