Chickens, eggs distributed free of cost in Vadodara

Vadodara, Mar 2 (UNI) In a bid to remove fears of bird flu from the minds of people, the Gujarat Broiler Farmers' Association (GBFA) organised ''chicken festival'' across the city by distributing chickens and eggs free of cost to all their customers.

According to the association sources, more than 2,000 kg of chicken meat were given to the consumers at five special counters opened at Navapura, Yakutpura, Jetalpur, Shastri bride and Fatehgung yesterday. As earlier announced by the association, each customer was provided with 500 gm of chicken and five eggs free of cost.

Claiming that there was no reason for bird flu scare in Gujarat, the association blamed the media for spreading unnecessary rumour and panic among the people of the state, and announced that the festival of free chicken and eggs would continue until the stocks last.

Besides, the association and poultry traders of the district also organised a road show and a mass feast with fried chicken.

Association president Ramesh Patel, who earlier led a delegation to meet state Health Minister Ashok Bhatt and Vadodara District Collector Rajeev Topno, had demanded immediate withdrawal of the ban on the entry of vehicles carrying poultry from Anand and other neighbouring districts into Vadodara.

The move was, however, strongly criticised by a group of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), who wanted that the authorities should stop this action of the poultry traders until the reports of the samples taken from the sick birds from the Hathikhana area were made public.

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