NOIDA: The Noida administration and the forest and veterinary departments have constituted a task force that will watch out for symptoms of flu in migratory birds. The move comes against the backdrop of bird flu outbreaks in Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
The vigil is all the more crucial for Noida because the district at the moment is reported to have at least 20,000 migratory birds in the sanctuaries and wetlands. Officials said they had been receiving panic calls from residents as any dead bird on the road has been arousing fear of the flu. They appealed to people not to draw any conclusions, pointing out there had been no reports of bird flu in Delhi-NCR so far.
The district administration and the forest department have been conducting regular checks around water bodies and forested areas and keeping tabs on the behaviour of birds. “So far, there is no case of bird flu in Delhi-NCR. If flu strikes, the consequences will be visible. Hundreds of birds will die at the same time. We are conducting checks and will take immediate action if anything alarming is detected,” said Virendra Kumar Singh, the chief veterinary officer of the district.
This time, around 20,000 migratory birds are estimated to be visiting the bird sanctuaries at Okhla and Surajpur and the wetlands. “This is why we have formed the task force. It will primarily keep vigil in the forest areas and sanctuaries. A directive has been issued to officials to keep safe distance from the birds. Usually, there is no contact with the birds, but we have still issued an alert,” said Suhas LY, the Noida DM.