Amid the bird flu alert in the country, the man-animal conflict helpline in the union territory of Chandigarh is inundated with calls made by citizens to report sightings of dead or diseased birds.
More than 100 dead birds have been recovered from across the city since the carcass of a migratory bird was found at Sukhna Lake on January 5. The fatalities included mostly crows and pigeons.
Till date, no bird has tested positive for the deadly avian influenza here.
However, the citizens, still fear-struck with the COVID-19, have now been thronging the helpline to report sightings of dead birds in the city. More than ten calls related to bird fatalities are reported everyday on the helpline since the confirmation of bird flu in neighboring states of Himachal Pradesh and Haryana.
Earlier, the average number of calls received and responded to on the man-animal conflict helpline were just three to six on a daily basis. Also, the complaints were earlier related to Sambars, Nilgai, Monkeys, Snakes, Bats, Owls, Eagles, Peacocks, Reptiles among other species.
The deadly H5N1 was confirmed in migratory birds found dead at Pong wetland in Himachal’s Kangra district on January 4 while the H5N8 strain of avian influenza was confirmed on January 8 in poultry samples from dairy farms in Haryana’s Panchkula district.
“On an average 10-12 calls are reported everyday on the dedicated man-animal conflict helpline regarding the dead birds found in city streets, parks and gardens. The calls to report dead or diseased birds have increased since the confirmation of bird flu in neighboring states of Haryana and Himachal. There is a panic among citizens due to bird flu,” said Dr Abdul Qayum, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Chandigarh while talking to The Pioneer.
He said, “Over 100 dead birds have been recovered till now and the mortalities were mostly of crows and pigeons. Recently, 13 samples collected from one dead pigeon and 12 dead crows were sent to the Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (RDDL) for testing and all samples have tested negative for bird flu.”
Dr Abdul said, “Earlier also, samples of dead birds collected from Sukhna Lake were sent to RDDL and they were tested negative.”
“These birds might have died from natural causes or due to extreme cold conditions,” he said while adding that the situation is being closely monitored and analyzed in the city in view of bird flu alert and there is no need to panic.
Notably, it was in the year 2014 when bird flu was detected in ducks at Sukhna Lake and over 90 ducks were culled to prevent the spread of avian influenza, H5N1 in the city.
This year, 11 states namely Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat have till now reported cases of avian influenza.
