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| Officials of district veterinary department
bury a dead crow in Dhanbad on Wednesday. Picture by Gautam Dey
|
The animal husbandry department on Thursday rushed
teams headed by veterinarians to different parts of Dhanbad after crow deaths
were reported from Dumra, Sijua and Phularitand.
Speaking to The Telegraph, district animal
husbandry officer Abhay Prasad Singh said 27 crow deaths have been reported from
Dhanbad so far. “This might or might not be due to bird flu but we are not
taking any chances. Teams are being sent everywhere to ensure proper disposal of
carcasses,” he said.
He added that an intensive awareness programme has
also been launched in the district and pamphlets detailing dos and don’ts are
being distributed in areas where crow deaths have been reported. A district
control room headed by Brahmadeo Prasad Yadav has also been constituted to
monitor the situation from Police Line in Hirapur.
According to Singh, one to four crow deaths have been
reported from isolated places. On Wednesday, 10 deaths were reported — one from
Sindri, one from Jorapokhar, three from Barwaddah, four from Nirsa and one from
Dhaiya.
When contacted, Yadav said besides bird flu, various
other factors like radiation from mobile phone towers, exposure to cold and
other diseases could also be responsible for the crow deaths in Dhanbad.
Explaining the steps being taken, district animal
husbandry officer Singh said besides ensuring disposal of carcasses, forest
guards were also being trained to deal with the situation. “Training has been
provided by two of our master trainers to 40 forest guards, 25 in Rajganj and 15
in Tundi on Wednesday,” Singh said, adding that people were being instructed to
not touch any carcasses with bare hands. People were also being also instructed
to sprinkle lime over the carcasses and also at the place where they were being
buried.
All 20 veterinary hospitals situated around the eight
blocks of the district have been put on high alert.
Health department nodal officer for bird flu in the
district P.K. Bhagat, who is also the secretary of Red Cross Society of Dhanbad,
on the other hand said no instances of bird flu had been reported from anywhere
in India but preventive steps have been taken in the district and medicines
procured from Ranchi. He added that an isolation ward comprising 10 beds had
been prepared at Patliputra Medical College and
Hospital. http://telegraphindia.com/1111216/jsp/jharkhand/story_14888119.jsp | 
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