The price and demand of chicken in the city remained unaffected despite the confirmation of a crow’s death due to H5N1 avian influenza in Ranchi’s Morhabadi. Though, the State Animal Husbandry Directorate has initiated some subsequent preventive measures.
Poultry owners and chicken sellers still continue selling chicken for Rs 120 to Rs 130 per kilogram in different parts of the city. The sale of freshly-dressed live birds has not seen any considerable dip in Kanke Road, Morhabadi, Bahu Bazar and Doranda markets.
“We usually sell around 100 to 120 chickens in a day. The sale has not seen any major dip. The wholesale price at which we buy chicken from poultry owners is also the same,” said Vikas Munda, a meat shop owner in Kanke Road’s CMPDI market.
Animal Husbandry Director Chittaranjan Kumar said that serum samples of several domestic birds from Morhabadi area have been sent for lab test to the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal and the reports are likely to come in the next three to four days.
“We have issued a directive to all the poultry owners asking them not to take unsold chicken back to the farms as a preventive measure,” said Kumar. Certain areas in the State capital have been put under surveillance, he added.
While rumours were rife that the directorate had imposed a ban on the entry of poultry carrying vehicles from other adjoining States, Kumar on Sunday rubbished such claims saying that no such directive has been issued.
Meanwhile, the sale of cooked chicken items at some educational institutions has witnessed a fall. Sudhir Ghosh, a Hinoo-based businessman who delivers raw and cooked chicken to snacks vendors located around Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Mesra, said that the sale has dropped marginally after some students pasted posters warning against consumption of chicken in the campus.
“The sale at restaurants and hotels has not been affected. Only a few smalltime snacks parlours have cut down on their production of chicken products in a bid to avoid losses,” he said.
Ranchi Civil Surgeon Dr VB Prasad has issued strict instructions asking chicken sellers to maintain cleanliness. This, however, is only a preventive measure, he said.
“By now, only crows have been tested H5N1 positive. Technically, we cannot issue an alert until a domestic bird is tested positive. We are waiting for the lab test reports,” Prasad said.
