Assam to review poultry ban order tomorrow

Guwahati, Feb 17 (UNI) The ban on poultry import in Assam would be reviewed at a high-level meeting tomorrow, after the state had taken up preventive culling in its two bordering districts with West Bengal.

Sources in the state Veterinary and Animal Husbandry department informed that the officials of the department and related departments would meet to review the ban order with the Additional Chief Secretary attending the meeting.

The areas where preventive culling was taken up would be monitored for 20-30 days, the sources said.

Meanwhile, the preventive culling of poultry in Dhubri and Kokrajhar districts had concluded on February 13. Culling of about 80,000 birds was taken up within five km radius of the border with West Bengal after the outbreak of the dreaded avian flu in the neigbouring state. An amount of Rs 24 lakh, to be released in two installments, has been sanctioned to compensate the farmers who lost their poultry.

A central government team, that had visited the state, had recommended the culling as a preventive measure. No outbreak of the bird flu has been reported from the state, the sources informed.

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