CM doubles chicken consumption to remove fears

Hyderabad, Feb 22 (UNI) Alarmed by drastic fall in chicken sale in the wake of the bird flu panic, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy has taken the lead, by doubling intake of chicken to instill confidence among the people.

Dr Reddy, who had of late turned vegetarian, took this initiative to reassure the people of the state that consumption of chicken was not at all harmful, he revealed.

Earlier in the day, All India Majilis-E-Itihadul Muslimeen floor leader Akbaruddin Owasi expressed concern over the sudden fall in the price of chicken in stalls and wanted the Government to organise a working lunch with chicken for all MLAs to create confidence in the people who were perplexed following reports over outbreak of bird flu in neighbouring Maharashtra.

The threat of bird flu in the state was ''Quite distant''. The virus had not hit birds in Andhra Pradesh, one of the biggest producers of poultry products. Even if it affecte some birds the chances of humans getting infected was remote as the virus would not be able to survive in tropical climatic conditions, with the mercury soaring to over 40 Deg C in the state.

''We don't consume chicken in raw form in salads and pizzas like Europeans. When chicken is boiled at a temperature of more than 100 Deg C, the virus is sure to die'', Dr Reddy, himself a doctor, explained.

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