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Hearing on culling put off to Feb. 27

CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Friday adjourned the hearing of the PIL that challenged the State Government’s decision to cull the poultry in Orissa, to February 27 when the Government counsel informed that the decision of the State Government has not yet been implemented yet.

Bowing before the Centre’s directive, the Orissa Government had decided to cull all the poultry within five km radius from the bird flu-hit West Bengal State. Despite a massive opposition to the decision coming from none other than the Department Minister, the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had insisted upon the implementation of the decision. This decision of the State Government was however challenged in the HC by the Orissa Layers Farmers Association.

The HC after taking cognizance of the PIL had asked the Centre and the State Government to file counters earlier this month. When the matter came for hearing on the day, the State Government counsel informed the HC that the implementation of the decision has however not started.

But the bench of Justice I.M.Quddusi and Justice S.C. Parija asked the State Government counsel to take instructions to file the Government counter in this regard before February 27 and adjourned the case to that date.

“Culling of poultry including duckry in all the Orissa villages coming within five-km off the border of West Bengal is not a wise decision as not a single case of bird flu has been reported so far in the State”, the petition said.

The petition said at least 4,811 samples of serum had been dispatched to high security avian disease laboratory (HSADL) in Bhopalfor testing. But no strain of the virus was found in any of the samples, the petition said.

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