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State in a piquant situation

BHUBANESWAR: With the opposition against preventive culling of birds in areas bordering bird flu-hit West Bengal growing in the State, the Orissa Government was yet to take a final decision in this regard.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had not taken any decision on the issue till Wednesday evening, according to official sources.

A final decision was necessary as Monday’s decision of the government to cull the birds was strongly opposed by Animal Resources Development Minister Golak Bihari Naik on Tuesday.

The Government had on Monday decided to go by the Centre’s directive to cull poultry birds in five km radius area in Mayurbhanj and Balasore districts bordering West Bengal.

Mr. Nayak had reportedly raised serious objections as neither he nor the Secretary of his Department was consulted before a decision was taken to go for preventive culling.

The locals in the two districts are strongly opposing the move to cull the birds as no bird flu case had been detected in the State so far.

Meanwhile, activists of Kalinga Sena, a regional political party, staged a demonstration in the capital city on Wednesday urging the government not to cull the birds.

A petition has also been filed in the High Court by the poultry farmers’ association against the government’s decision to cull the birds.

The petition is likely to come up for hearing the High Court on Thursday.

According to sources, even if the State Government finally decides to cull the birds it cannot implement the decision, as the Central government had not supplied the kits required for the exercise.

The Centre had also not been to supply vaccines required for vaccination of the birds in the border districts of the State, sources said.

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