Culling of ducks begins at Sukhna

Chandigarh : Taking no risk, teams of 30 members including the experts, have stated culling of all the ducks at the Sukhna Lake soon after the bird flu was confirmed in one of the 30 domesticated ducks. The culling of the ducks started in the evening after getting the nod from the Government of the India. The birds are being culled and buried as per the action plan and bio-security measure set up by WHO under supervision of experts from RDDL, Jalandhar. Commissioner of Municipal Corporation Vivek Pratap Singh, who is also holding the charge of Deputy Commissioner, said that the no culling of the migratory birds would be done. The decision to cull the ducks was taken after the high level meeting held during the day. Director Animal Husbandry-cum-SDM Prince Dhawan was appointed the nodal officer to get the operation done along with the team of experts from RDDL Jalandhar. The operation started at 4 pm with the help of all the concerned departments, primarily Animal Husbandry, Wildlife and Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh and Director Health Services and Engineering Department. The operation was still under process at the filing of the story The areas of the Lake have been cordoned off by Police officials and officials from the Forest Department. The medical examination of the 30-member team was done at the Government Multi-Speciality Hospital, Sector 16. The Administration has also alerted the Deputy Commissioners of Panchkula and Mohali on this issue. Commissioner Vivek Pratap Singh clarified that presently there was no alert like situation but they would monitor all the birds in the surrounding areas in the times to come. As per the standard protocol issued by the World Health Organisation to contain avian flu, the birds in the affected areas will be burned and buried on an island at the centre of Sukhna Lake. The culling becomes necessary to contain the avian flu, which can spread between birds and onto humans as it is contagious and packs high mortality, Nearly two lakh birds were culled in Kerala due to the outbreak of the avian influenza, H5N1 in 2004. Over 30 ducks at the lake had died under mysterious circumstances in recent days. The Sukhna lake has nearly 250 ducks and geese which are a star attraction for visitors. The presence of the H5N1 virus was confirmed in a sample from one dead duck by the Bhopal-based National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) Wednesday. Ducks have been dying for the past 10 days and officials initially thought the deaths could be due to food poisoning or over-feeding. “At present, there is no assessment regarding any outbreak of bird flu in Chandigarh. The situation is, however, being very closely monitored,” a spokesman of the Chandigarh Administration said. No need to panic An officer said that people were advised not to panic but cooperate with the Administration. The UT Administration has taken all possible steps to ensure the containment of virus and will continue to monitor the situation closely. The lake and its vicinity shall remain out of bounds for general public till further orders.