No further spread of bird-flu in WB

There was no further spread of the virus in the state where 13 of the 19 districts have fallen prey to the disease.

District Magistrate of West Midnapore, N S Nigam, said the culling operation started at Chak Belcha village in the Debra block first.

Culling was also in progress in Murshidabad's Samserganj block where the outbreak was reported yesterday.

However, culling operation suffered a setback in Coochbehar's Dinhata block where workers engaged by the Rapid Response Teams stopped killing the diseased birds demanding a raise in their remuneration from Rs 70.

The additional district magistrate (development) has assured the workers that their remuneration would be hiked to Rs 105.

Aggrieved personnel of the Rapid Response Teams who carried out culling operations in the worst-hit block of Birbhum district have left the area yesterday without waiting for their release orders.

More than 180-185 personnel of the Animal Resource Development department had arrived in Kolkata on January 20 from other parts of the state for carrying out culling operations in Rampurhat I block, the first to be declared bird flu-hit in the state.

Asked about the development, Birbhum Zilla Parishad Sabhadipati Manasa Hansda said "It was wrong on their part to leave the area without the consent of the department or the district authorities".

"For their own safety, it would have been better had they stayed for another seven days. It is a normal practice to keep the personnel of the culling team under observation before being allowed to leave", Hansda said.

Asked if the incident would hamper work at Rampurhat I block, BDO Kajal Roy said at present mopping and survey work were being conducted by 60-65 ARD personnel.

The ARD employees, who had arrived from Howrah, Hooghly and South 24 Parganas districts, also had an argument with Rampurhat I BDO and district ARD officer S D Bhowmick on the problems being faced by them.

The ARD personnel said they were brought to Rampurhat for seven days on a two-hour notice, but their stay was being prolonged. They claimed they had faced tremendous public resistance and were not given proper food and shelter.

The BDO said "We cannot deny their allegations. The inclement weather conditions also compounded their problems".

Culling has been completed in five out of nine blocks in the district. It was expected to be over within a day or two in the remaining blocks of Birbhum, official sources said.