Rangiya, Assam (PTI): Culling operations began on Friday after blood samples of poultry of Hajo revenue circle of Kamrup (Rural) district tested positive for bird flu for the first time in Assam, a top district official said.

District Deputy Commissioner R C Jain told PTI that symptoms of bird-flu were detected among the poultry at Thakuriapara village of Hajo revenue circle, near Guwahati since on Friday with the unnatural death of over 300 fowl.

Blood samples of the birds were sent to a specialised institute in Bhopal and the National institute of Virology, Pune.

With the blood samples testing positive, a decision was taken to cull the birds, including chicken, ducks and pigeons, till the disease was controlled, Jain said.

Culling operations began during the day with 30,000 poultry killed and a joint operation launched to identify sick birds.

Sale and purchase of poultry was banned and CrPC Section 144 was imposed in the district since yesterday to prevent spread of the disease and cause harm to humans, he said.

Compensation would be paid to poultry farmers at the rate of Rs 50 per large chicken, Rs 20 for a medium sized one and Rs 10 for a chicklet.

For ducks, Rs 75 would be paid per big bird and Rs 30 for a small one, while Rs 50 would be paid per pigeon, he said.

The local people were also being told about handling fowl and disposal of dead birds, he added.