With 4637 migratory birds’ fallen victim to the deadly bird flu at Pong wetland in Kangra district, Himachal Government has decided to  further intensify surveillance at the waterbody.

For this, the Wildlife Wing of HP Forest Department has requested the Department of Fisheries to provide their boats in Pong Dam Lake Reservoir as per the requirement to deal with the outbreak of bird flu.

The Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur held a meeting with Deputy Commissioners on Tuesday to review the bird flu situation in the state.

 “On January 12, 280 migratory birds were reported dead at Pong Dam Wildlife Sanctuary pushing the death toll to 4637 till Tuesday afternoon. Nearly 150 carcasses were old mortalities in Dehra beat which have been retrieved from swampy areas of the lake,” said a senior official of the Wildlife wing of Forest Department, Himachal while talking to The Pioneer.

He said that the situation in Dhameta range of Pong Dam WLS has improved considerably with significant reduction in mortality numbers with only two birds being reported dead from the range on Tuesday.

The official said the Chief Minister has directed the DCs to maintain proper surveillance alongside the reservoirs and also ensure proper disposal of dead birds.

The State Government had a day before banned import of poultry products from other states in view of bird flu.

As per the directions of Chief Minister, Wildlife Wing of HP Forest Department has requested Department of Fisheries to provide their boats in Pong Dam Lake Reservoir for active surveillance, the official said.

The government is already implementing measures to prevent the spread of bird flu in native avian species in the state. Rapid response teams are working continuously in the sanctuary area for active surveillance of bird flu and safe disposal of dead birds as per protocol, he added.

It was last week when the deadly avian influenza- H5N1 was confirmed by NIHASAD, Bhopal in five migratory birds, whose carcasses were found in Pong wetland.

As per the official figures, the Pong Dam wetland is currently hosting around 60000 migratory birds of different species, who reach here every year from Siberia and Central Asia for their winter sojourn.

Apart from migratory birds, 1000 dead domestic poultry birds were found dumped in Dharampur sub division of district Solan. Over 215 other birds were also found dead in various parts of the state in the last one week.