Skip to content Skip to navigation

Bird Flu Alert

By Rituparna Goswami Pande |
The flu – bird flu is back with a bang. The state Animal Husbandary and Veterinary Department sounded a health alert on Avian influnza in poultry in all the districts of Assam.

Following the Bird Flu outbreak in Bengal the state has beefed up security measures so as to curb its effect in the state. Reports are rife that the bird flu outbreak in Bengal could turn out to be the worst in the country and may measure up to the crisis faced by Thailand, Bangladesh and Vietnam.

Assam sounded its alert in the bordering districts which share borders with Bengal including Goalpara, Dubri, Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon.

RK Sharma, the deputy Secretary, Veterinary and Animal Husbandary Department stated that steps are afoot to prevent the spread of the disease in different parts of the state. The Rapid Response Team (RPT) has also been set into motion in all the districts to keep a watch on the situation.

In a state level meeting between the Commissioner and Secretary of Animal Husbandary and Veterinary Department it was decided that the district administrations would intensify the vigil in border areas and ensure that no poultry products enter the state from the neighbouring state.

Mentionably, around 7,000 poultry enters the northeast in the market everyday via Assam. And the biggest share is consumed in Assam itself. Traders of poultry are looking at the eyes of huge losses as the bird flu alert is surely going to bring down the sale of poultry in the markets.

There is no reason to panic as yet for no case of bird flu has been reported and that enough stock of vaccine is available if the need arises.
Author info

Rituparna Goswami Pande's picture

Journalist, writer

Comments

jaay's picture

Submitted by jaay on Sat, 02/02/2008 - 16:25
Modern times throw challenges to not only humanity but everybody associated with the nature and then the only one who seems to be fighting or rather trying to set it right are the human being. Why? Why AIDS/ Cancer /Asthma does not bother anybody else but human, I mean there are animals, birds, mammals and scores of other things who are in nature. Maybe the answer lies in the fact that humans have probably invaded the space of not only his but other beings too. Not that because I am a Vegetarian, I am trying to put across this point, but because I think there has to be a fine line existing between us and THEM and which we cross so often, like inhaling them or coming in contact with them with too much of proximity. This is a dangerous trend and it has been there forever, but what is that, that in this time and hour, it taking the toll. Killing birds in scores now and then stopping it is not the answer, because we had this menace in past too and we thought it had gone, but it struck again. Something is terribly wrong and we must address it individually. It is the collective responsibility of each individual living on this space to set it right and try not to meddle with nature, not matter who anybody is. The government should stringent measure and people should not debate on what reimbursements they are getting, for saving one bird because of 10 Rupee can cost dearly. Well written article, you touch the hearts, as usual.

Pages

Add new comment

Assamese Translator

Assam Times seeks English to Assamese translators!
Join our volunteer team.
Email editor@assamtimes.org.

Random Stories

Gogoi unhappy with general budget

18 Mar 2012 - 12:21am | editor
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Saturday seemed not happy with the Union budget tabled in Parliament on Friday. Talking to reporters in Guwahati on Saturday, Gogo said that there is no such...

Apollo doctor for press club evening clinic

25 Nov 2016 - 12:23pm | AT News
The next 'Evening with a Doctor' program will be graced by Dr Madan Mohan Reddy, senior consultant on orthopedic surgery from Apollo Hospitals, Chennai. The media clinic will begin at 4 pm on 26...

Sanitary napkin destroyer machine

9 Sep 2016 - 4:17pm | AT News
For the benefit of lady member-scribes of Guwahati Press Club (GPC), a sanitary napkin destroyer machine was launched on Friday (9 September 2016) in the club premises. Sponsored by Junior Chamber...

Miscreants vandalize school

10 Jan 2017 - 6:48pm | Shajid Khan
A group of miscreants barged into a private school in Ward No. 2 of  Tangla on Monday night and allegedly  began destroying everything in sight. They broke into the U.N. Academy a private...

Other Contents by Author

Women of Substance

This women’s day I salute those unsung ‘heroes’ who have withstood the onslaught of fickle fate. No they are not faces in the crowd rather they are the crowd whose faces we don’t remember. They are those who are living in the periphery of life, battling everyday issues of home and hearth.I bow my head in reverence to the grit of Mausam’s mother who put aside her grief after losing her only son to Ewing’s Sarcoma in order to stand as a pillar of strength to her broken husband who unable to bear the tempest of misfortune had almost lost touch with reality. I like many others was a helpless bystander of the tale of woe that had fallen like a bolt from the blue on this poor family.  But...

My Waxen Wings

If I had wings and were a birdWould travel the world and orbit the EarthOr had I been a butterfly Eclectic colors would be mineI would hover over trees, flutter over blooms, On a spiritual high, I would go into a swoonShould I be a fish and swim the seaPass through oceans or haunt a reefWith beautiful corals for companyThe heart would leap at Nature’s bountyHad I been a fir tree insteadMy leaves would flutter in snow headsThe flirty wind would kiss my soulThe icy breeze to lift me up, life would be on a rollWhat if I were the season – SpringOrchid blooms, newness to ring inNo, no let me be the sky, the endless blueFar from earth, to keep a watch on youBut then my mind looks to the...

I, Kaziranga

I, KazirangaShedding tears of bloodMy children, the four leggedIn men no longer trust.God’s blessed beings are theyRoaming the wildsIn search of prey and hayOften trapped by wily menCaught unawaresBy a poaching handLeft to dieWith bleeding woundsWith their hornsCut by forest goonsNo where to runNo where to hideTheir haven encroached by thugsTheir skies taken over by two legged bugsFeigned protectionI don’t seekI, KazirangaWill continue to bleedIf there is no messiahLet my children not desireAny solace from cruel fateBut march towards extinction and Heaven’s gate.

A day for Women!

The fact that we need to celebrate Women’s Day portends that all is not well in a women’s world. Or else why would we need to single out a day for millions of women who have equal rights and status in the world they inhabit. We don’t have a men’s day which is evidence enough that all is hunky dory with their race.The UN theme for International Women's Day 2013 is "A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women," while International Women's Day 2013 has declared the year's theme as The Gender Agenda: Gaining Momentum. But then is it really gaining momentum?As we celebrate Women’s Day today a woman is probably being raped in our rape capital i.e. Delhi or any other...

Assam - a killing field for the wild

Lately every morning we have been waking up to screaming headlines of animal killings in the newspapers. Rhinos being poached with their horns brutally severed and left to die,elephants electrocuted or hunted down, their bodies mutilated and left to bleed to death. Gory pictures of animal atrocities splashed in every newspaper, every channel. It really makes one ponder as to how low humans can stoop to gratify their covetous desire for money. Twisted minds are targetting the animal kingdom, mute creatures, innocent beings who do not care nor bother to know how our world has become a slave to money. The world Heritage site Kaziranga National park has seen 20 rhino killings this year and a...

Prevent Animal Sacrifice this puja

All Hindus become epitomes of excitement to the run up to the festival of the auspicious Durga puja. Pandals coming up everywhere, idols being given finishing touches, revellers thronging the markets, discount offers, designer wear on sale and so on. Everyone is under the grip of puja fever and the associated excitement.But for once if we shift our focus away from ourselves and our frivolous acts and ponder over the plights of those innocent animals that would be sacrificed during the puja offerings, I am sure the smiles in our faces would be wiped off. At least the smiles would vanish from those faces who have a little compassion for the four legged. Imagine the little pigeons, a symbol...

Mobile phone radiation: A health hazard

From bedraggled beggars on the streets to the suit clad brokers on Wall Street – the ubiquitous cell phone is everywhere, in every pocket irrespective of the rich / poor status of its owners. It is no longer an item of luxury albeit it’s a must have today, a necessary evil. For technology comes with a price and the technology behind mobile phones is sure to make mankind pay a heavy price – the price of health and safety. The recent furore created in the media worldwide over the possible hazareds of mobile phone radiation has made us sit up and take note of the pros and cons of using the innocent looking mobile handset which had till date so surely and surreptitiously...

Mob dynamics

Man is an animal first and a social animal later. However, our ‘social’ status has failed to erase our animal instincts, which lies dormant in our basic dispositions. The urge to spread violence, the need to kill, and the thirst to quench our carnal desires are proof that there is still some animal in us. These urges raise their ugly heads in the form of homicides, rape and molestation incidents, and mob violence etc putting mankind to shame. The dangerous of all is our affinity towards the mob mentality that threatens to ensnare us at the slightest pretext and at the slightest of provocation. The term “mob mentality” is used to refer to unique behavioral...

Kameswari festival in Kamakhya

The mellifluous tinkle of the Sarod permeated the atmosphere under a canopy of twinkling stars and a soft breeze that emanated from the somber Nilachal hill. Ustaad Amjad Ali Khan and his sons Amaan and Ayaan performed at the open amphitheatre in the Kamakhya temple premises striking a divine chord in all our hearts. The setting couldn’t have been more striking. The silhouette of the sanctuary at the backdrop and the stupendous performances of maestros were the perfect mode of the two day Kameshwari Music and Dance festival 2010. Dance and music have been an inherent part of temples in India since times immemorial. In order to appease the gods these art forms have always been...

Animals in captivity

“The Assam State Zoo encompassing over 130 hectares of land boasts of an astonishing collection of some rare and extinct species of wild animals settled comfortably in their natural habitat.” This is how a website describes the zoo in our city. However, the ‘stay’ of the animals there is far from ‘comfortable’. The captive animals in small enclosures with hardly room for free movement is a far cry from comfortable. The Assam state Zoo boasts of white tigers, one horned rhinos, Swamp tapirs and leopards to name a few. The zoo is also prosperous in the avian branch and plays host to rare species of birds. Sadly, the animals are caged for better viewing of...