Fear can defeat even strong appetite. That is the only reason why tourists, regular boozers and habitual searchers for good foods are not complaining about the disappearance of duck delicacies from the tables of the toddy shops, restaurants and houseboats of Alappuzha district in Kerala. The spread of bird flu in the district has seemingly paralysed the gourmets’ taste buds.
Duck delicacies have always been in high demand at the toddy shops lining the sides of the Alappuzha-Changanassery road cutting through Kuttanad, known as Kerala’s Rice Bowl. These food items disappeared all of a sudden this week after it was confirmed that the death of large number of ducks in several panchayats in Alappuzha was caused by avian influenza virus.
Curries and other delicacies prepared from the meat of “Kuttanadan ducks” and made hot and aromatic with choice spices have always been the most sought after food varieties — perhaps after the local fish curries — in the toddy shops of Kuttanad and other places in Alappuzha, especially during the October-March tourism season.
Toddy shops, houseboats and restaurants were forced to stop serving duck and chicken dishes following the outbreak of the avian flu which led to the death of thousands of ducks in the area and because of the restrictions imposed on usage and sale of poultry products including duck, chicken meat and eggs in and around the affected areas.
A toddy shop manager at Chambakkulam said he stopped serving duck and chicken dishes on Monday itself after the first reports on bird flu broke on television channels. “My income has dropped by over 70 per cent but it can’t be helped. This is not a matter of choice. I think no shop in these areas is now selling these dishes,” he said.
Vincent, a houseboat operator based at Alappuzha, known as Venice of the East among tourism circles said, “Many tourists, both domestic and foreign, book the boats mainly for savouring the hot duck and chicken dishes we serve. Now, we will have to satisfy them with fish. I am sure that the situation will remain for some time.”
At the same time, the bird flu scare is suspected to have spread to more areas with growers reporting mass deaths of ducks and chicken in places other than the three districts - Alappuzha, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta where bird flu incidence was originally reported from. A total of over 20,000 ducks have died in Kerala since Saturday last due to bird flu.
Reports of possible bird flu attack came from Kalady in Ernakulam district where about 50 ducks were found dead including Vaniyamkulam in Palakkad district and Kollam. The district collector, Thiruvananthapuram banned entry of vehicles carrying ducks, chickens and poultry products into the district for two days.
The authorities on Wednesday started mass culling of flu-hit ducks in Purakkad, Alappuzha and Aymanam in Kottayam district with the help of local residents. This was done by first killing the ducks and then burning them using firewood and petrol as duck growers protested against “unscientific methods” of culling.
After a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday morning, CM Oommen Chandy said that there was no need for panic as presence of virus which could affect humans had not been found so far but precautions were necessary. He said the Government would ensure availability of vaccines and medicines in all the affected areas.
After a visit to the flu-hit Kuttanad area on Wednesday, a three-member Central team of experts said that there was no situation for the people to panic. The team expressed satisfaction about the measures adopted by the State Government. They would visit various flu-hit areas in the State to review the situation.