The Bihar Government on Wednesday ordered culling of chickens in six panchayat areas in Katihar district, adjacent to affected Malda district of West Bengal, as a preventive measure. The decision came a day after the state had imposed a blanket ban on entry of poultry from the neighbouring state.Allaying fears about the virus spreading to the state, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said the chickens would be culled as a precautionary measure. He said precautionary measure required that chickens within a radius of 5 km of the area where the virus had been spotted should be culled. “Six panchayats of Katihar district fall in this danger zone and thereby, we have ordered culling of all chickens here. A team comprising 150 members has been sent from Patna for the job,” Modi said, adding that owners of the chickens would be adequately compensated. The six panchayats are Kharsauta, Nikaul, Deogaon, Pupapatti, Amraripur and Gayghatta. Despite a a blanket ban on import of chickens from West Bengal, the authorities are scared as the porous border makes it extremely difficult to stop chickens from entering Bihar.
