They gheraoed the Margram police station this morning, protesting against “harassment” of one of their leaders by the police and the lack of amenities for safe culling. The members were mostly employees of the Animal Resources Development Department who had been brought in from different districts for the culling.

From them, the villagers took their cue, taking out protest rallies and complaining about inadequate compensation. The result? Culling was suspended for five hours.

Admitting that Margram police station was gheraoed, Prasanna Kumar Mondol, SDO, Rampurhat, said the officers of Rapid Response Team engaged in culling “refused to cooperate with us”.

“We had a detailed talk with their leaders and work started later,” he said, “this is most unwanted at a time when we are combating a deadly disease on an emergency basis.”

Refusing to elucidate, Dilip Das from the state Animal Husbandry and Resource Development Department, said: “There are some problems, but we have asked district authorities to carry on with awareness campaign. It is extremely important that we go on with culling,” said

The day’s trouble began at about 8.30 am, when police caught Swadesh Chakraborty — a Birbhum district committee member of state coordination committee — urinating inside the Margram police station campus. He was detained on charges of “committing nuisance”. The incident induced around 200 ARD officials to stop work and start sloganeering. Chakraborty joined them and the agitation continued for over four hours.

“I was harassed by the police. I want the guilty officers to be punished. The ARD officials and employees are living in inhuman conditions and it is the duty of the authorities to see that those on such an important job get proper food and shelter,” he said.

The protesters returned to work after the SDO himself had a talk with them at 1.30 pm.

But the culling operations, scheduled to begin at 9 am, was already delayed. But the protesters were unrepentant. “Culling can wait. The authorities should first look at us. At least 200 of us are jostling on the floor of a community hall, which has only four toilets and a single bathroom. Many are already sick. The food is awful. To top it all, the police are harassing us,” said Arabindo Das, an accountant at the Livestock Development Office of ARD in Suri, who was among the protesters.

There are over 300 people, ARD staff and doctors who are engaged in culling operations in the area.

Later, the operation could be partially resumed in 127 villages of the five affected blocks — Rampurhat I and II, Nalhati I and II, Mayureshwar I and Muraroi I and II. Chickens in two private poultries were also culled, the overall figures for yesterday was 8,600, officials said.

But even so, reports of agitation and resentment poured in from the affected villages. Some had refused to hand over their poultry. Others protested against digging pits to bury the chicken.

Villagers in Margram, Mollahpara, Budhigram resisted the culling operations. At Mollahpara, villagers agitated against Abhijit Roy Chowdhury and Muhammed Zakir Hussain — Margram panchayat Sabhapati — when they arrived for culling.

“Not even a single awareness camp was conducted in our village. The compensation is very low. No one will give our chickens. They are wearing masks. But what about us? We are handling the chickens,” said Nabiara Khatun at Mollahpara village. At Bodhigram, villagers forced a stop to the digging of a pit for the second day.

The authorities were able to dig only a single deposit pit near the block development officer’s office.