J&K rejects Centre's demand to lift ban on entry of poultry

Srinagar, Mar 2: The Jammu and Kashmir government has rejected the Centre's demand to lift the ban on entry of chicken and eggs into the state, official sources said today.

The sources said the Jammu and Kashmir government, on its part, informed the Centre that the ban, imposed on February 19, on entry of poultry and poultry products into the state would continue till the threat of the deadly bird flu in the country was over.

In a letter to state Chief Secretary Vijay Bakaya, the Union Agriculture Ministry (Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries), said the outbreak of the deadly avian influenza was confined to a few farms in Maharashtra and Gujarat.

It said active surveillance had been intensified around the area of infection.

''Surveillance has been stepped up in all the states. Imposing restriction on inter-state movement of poultry and poultry products is not necessary. The states are advised to review any such restrictions imposed at their levels,'' the letter added.

However, the sources said the Chief Secretary rejected the demand, reiterating that the ban would continue till further orders and asserted the state government was monitoring the situation on a daily basis.

Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had urged his Jammu and Kashmir counterpart Ghulam Nabi Azad to lift the ban on the entry of poultry, saying the farm owners in his state were suffering heavy loss on account of the restrictions.

UNI