A year ago, bird flu struck nearly six districts in the state, especially in Nawapur area of Nandurbar district, and was caused due to migratory birds.(PTI Photo/ File/ Representational) Around 300 chickens died abruptly at a poultry farm in Vehloli village of Shahapur tehsil in Maharashtra’s Thane district Thursday. Thane district collector Rajesh Narvekar said samples from the birds have been sent to a lab in Pune to assess the possibility of bird flu.
“We have sealed an area of one-kilometre radius around the poultry farm and have started culling chickens and destroying eggs as a precautionary measure. As of now, the illness is only confined to this area,” he said.
A Thane administration official said the process has begun to cull nearly 15,000 birds.
Vehloli, near the Mumbai-Nashik Expressway, is located 69 km from Mumbai. It has a population of 296 families comprising 1,697 people.
A year ago, bird flu struck nearly six districts in the state, especially in Nawapur area of Nandurbar district, and was caused due to migratory birds. More than 10 lakh birds were culled then. Prior to that, a massive bird flu wave had struck Maharashtra in 2006.
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