Rajasthan seals Gujarat border to keep bird flu at bay

Jaipur, Feb 23 (UNI) Rajasthan has sealed its border with Gujarat along the Sirohi district as a precautionary measure against the outbreak of bird flu.

The Sirohi district collector issued a notification in this regard yesterday. No chicken and eggs from outside the state would be permitted to be brought in.

Four check posts at Mandar, Abu Road, Chhapra and Pindwara have been set up near the sales tax department, where any truck carrying chicken and eggs would be stopped, searched and returned.

Meanwhile, Jaipur's zoo has banned chicken and eggs from the diet of its animals. According to assistant conservator of forest (ACF) S K Bhatti, mutton and other alernatives like liver and beef are being given to supplement the animals' diet.

Birds' cages, n a separate part of the zoo, are being treated with disinfectants on a weekly basis instead of the earlier fortnightly.

All the animals and birds are being kept under surveillance.

Mr Bhatti said there are hardly any migratory birds in the zoo.

''All of them are captive, we are maintaining a strict vigil,'' he added.

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