Culling of fowls started at Keranga village in Khordha district on Wednesday after the operation was halted due to stiff resistance by the villagers on Tuesday, to curb spreading of bird flu virus.
As many as 300 chickens were killed. A compensation of Rs 90 from the State Government and Rs 25 from the Red Cross is being provided for culling of each fowl, informed Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Minister Pradeep Maharathy. He said the situation would be under control within four to five days. On Tuesday, the villagers had opposed the culling operation demanding demolition of a poultry farm located on the outskirts of the village claiming that the virus started spreading after the farm was set up. They also demanded compensation proportional to the cost of each chicken culled.
Khordha Collector Niranjan Sahu and other officials held a meeting with the villagers on Tuesday evening and promised them of better compensation, following which the locals agreed to cooperate in the culling process.
It may be recalled that the process for culling of chickens in the village within a radius of one km has been undertaken after four dead crows and three dead fowls tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus aka bird flu virus.
Ten Rapid Response Teams have been mobilised for the culling operation in the area. More than 1,200 chickens would be culled during the operation, officials said. A similar bird flu outbreak had been reported in the region in 2012.