Situation inches towards normalcy in Bokaro

Bokaro: Despite Bokaro being Ground Zero for the recent bird flu outbreak in the state with Ranchi also reporting confirmed cases, the situation in the coal town is gradually inching towards normalcy with chicken shops starting to reopen and chicken dishes returning to the menu of eateries.
On Saturday, chicken shops in Sector-4, Sector-9 and other sectors reopened. With Holi round the corner and no other bird flu confirmation report coming in, people now believe that the disease is contained.
The avian virus was reported from the government poultry farm at Lohanchal in Sector-12 on February 21 and till Wednesday, over 3,532 chickens and ducks have been culled while 2,487 eggs were destroyed in the one-kilometre radius of the farm. More than 800 chickens, including the expensive Kadaknath breed, died at the farm after the outbreak.
Later, the district administration declared areas within a one-km radius of the farm as the affected zone while areas within a 10-km radius were declared surveillance zone. It also banned the sale of chickens and ducks in these zones.
The district animal husbandry officer, Manoj Kumar Mani, who led the culling team, said, “Chickens and ducks were culled in Bagrabeda, Hanuman Nagar, Ukrid, Ritudih, Tetuliah, Lakdkhanda, Birsa Basa, Sonataad and Satanpur. The government will provide Rs 90 per poultry bird to its owner as compensation.”
He also said they are taking all preventive measures in the government poultry. It will be closed for the next three months and proper sanitation will be carried out, Mani added.
Meanwhile, the report of 78 chickens found dead in private poultry farms at Gaychanda under the Kasmar block is yet to be verified. Besides, reports of samples from two dozen poultry farms in Chas and other blocks are yet to arrive. Department officers believed that the reports are negative and the government laboratory in Bhopal did not feel it necessary to furnish the report immediately. The samples were sent on February 24.
A restaurant owner said the sale of chicken items which dropped drastically last week has started gaining stability. People who shifted to mutton, fish or vegetable items, have now started placing orders for chicken believing the infection spread is over.