No bird flu case in Karnataka: Minister

Malpe, Karnataka, Mar 5 (UNI) Allaying the fears of people over consuming chicken and egg, Karnataka Medical Education and Animal Husbandry Minister V S Acharya today said no case of bird flu was found in the state after a fortnight's intensive monitoring.

Inaugurating an egg and chicken mela here, jointly organised by the Department of Animal Husbandry, National Egg Coordination Committee and Dakshina Kannada District Poultry Cooperative society, he said a High Power Committee and a Core Committee, constituted by the government, had been reviewing bird samples from all the districts for the past 15 days. Even the ban on the State's poultry products by Kerala and Goa had been lifted, he added.

Stating that the post-bird flu scare situation in the state normalise within a week, Dr Acharya said such food melas were being organised to instill confidence in the minds of people. After the outbreak of the dreaded virus in Maharashtra, poultry business in Karnataka, which enjoyed a daily turnover of Rs one crore, collapsed.

The Minister announced that the government was mulling providing eggs twice a week under the mid-day meal scheme for school children and milk to those who did not consume eggs.

Arrangements had been made to distribute chicken and egg dishes free to about 6,000 people.

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