Prohibitory orders were imposed and a one-km radius area was declared a “zero mobility zone” in Rajasthan’s Jhalawar town on Thursday after over 50 crows were found dead because of avian influenza. The mass death of crows was also reported recently from Jodhpur.
The Jhalawar Municipal Council has ordered closure of all poultry and egg shops in the city and sanitised the affected area near the Radi Ke Balaji temple. A joint team of Wildlife and Animal Husbandry Departments inspected the area and sent samples to the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases, Bhopal, for testing.
Jhalawar Collector Ngikya Gohain said the prohibitory orders clamped under Section 144 of Cr.P.C. would help contain the spread of the disease. “A rapid response team will also ensure strict compliance with the Avian Influenza Action Plan-2015 and collect samples from the nearby poultry farms and shops,” he said.
The district administration has informed the owners of poultry farms that if the bird flu was found to have infected the fowls reared for eggs and meat, they would be culled and a suitable compensation given.
In Jodhpur, death of crows was reported when their carcasses were found in the Chaupasni Housing Board area during the last few days. Earlier, the world-famous Sambhar Salt Lake near Jaipur had witnessed the death of over 18,000 migratory birds in November last year because of avian botulism, an illness which affects nervous system and causes flaccid paralysis in legs and wings.
