Outrage in Jhapa over slow response

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Kantipur Report
BIRTAMOD, Jan 18 - People living in parts of Jhapa district bordering India blocked vehicular movement on Saturday to protest what they called "lack of seriousness" on the part of the government to control the outbreak of bird flu.

They got infuriated as government officials did not show up at the affected area soon after the outbreak.

Dilli Ghimire, a local, said, "Twenty-four hours have passed since the government declared parts of Jhapa bird flu-infected area, but the administration has not sent officials to the affected area to control the outbreak. This is ridiculous".

Just two technicians are spraying Vircon, a disinfectant, in and around the infected area, he said. Locals fear the delay on the part of the government to control the outbreak will result in a number of casualties, he said. On Friday, the government had declared emergency in areas that lie within a radius of three kilometres from the quarantine office in Kakkarbhitta, the gateway to eastern Nepal. The emergency-hit area straddles the Mechi River in the east, Mechi Municipality in the west, Nakalbanda in the north and Satighatta in the south.

Manas Banerjee, coordinator-director at the Avian Influenza Control Project under the Ministry of Health, said on Friday that the government had sent a medical team along with 65 supervisors to cull the infected birds. He added that the medial experts and supervisors would cull around 13,000 birds in five days.

Banerjee said on Saturday, "The team has been conducting surveillance in the affected area. All the 65 supervisors have been given antiviral medicine called Tamiflu to keep infection at bay." "In a bid to contain the outbreak, the government has banned the transportation of poultry products to and from Jhapa and barred locals from the affected area," he said.

Meanwhile, a team comprising officials from the Department of Animal Husbandry under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives arrived here on Saturday.
Ram Krishna Khatiwada, chief of the Central Quarantine Office and the team leader, said a rapid response team would be mobilised in the affected area from Sunday.

Meanwhile, a report from Ilam states that District Administration Office (DAO) has sounded alert after bird flu was detected in Kakarbhitta of Jhapa. The DAO has directed checkposts to prohibit the import of poultry and poultry products in Ilam. According to Sudharshan Dhakal, Chief District Officer of Ilam, "All departments under the DFO have been told to ban the import of poultry products."

On Saturday, the DFO destroyed 800 chicken eggs at Chabbise of Shri Antu in the district.

Meanwhile, poultry farmers based in Biratnagar said the compensation offered by the government was too little. On Friday, the government had promised to compensate the farmers, whose birds would be culled, as per the law.

Representatives from the District Poultry and Traders Association on Saturday said the government was not providing compensation as per the market price of chickens. Poultry farmers will not cooperate with the government's exercise if their concerns are not addressed, the association said.