# 2556
According to The Telegraph, a foul-up on getting cash to compensate poultry owners resulted in only 50 birds being destroyed on the first day of culling, despite dispatching 8 teams to the area.
You may remember that the West Bengal government was roundly criticized by the Centre (National Government) and by the press during the last outbreak of bird flu, which began a year ago, for its slow and at times uncoordinated response.
Cash block stalls culling in flu zone
50 birds killed on Day IOUR CORRESPONDENT
A chicken being killed at Sabjipara, about 12km from Malda town. Picture by Surajit Roy
Malda, Dec. 16: Only 50 chickens could be culled today in the district’s bird-flu zone as the cash to compensate poultry owners reached too late in the day.
Jahanara Begum, who brought four chickens for culling from Sahidpur village in Narhatta, said: “We are not ready to give up our chickens for nothing. We would rather sell it in the market.”
Eight teams that fanned out across 13 mouzas — having 40 villages — around noon returned to Malda town when the money did not reach Narhatta by 5.30pm.
Only one team that stayed put till 6.30pm culled 50 chickens in Sabjipara village.
All poultry within 3km of Narhatta, where bird flu was confirmed last evening, has to be culled.
District magistrate Sridhar Ghosh said it took time to encash the government’s bank draft of Rs 40 lakh, carried to Malda by Gopal Chakrabarty, deputy director of the animal resource department’s regional laboratory in Belgachhia, Calcutta. Chakrabarty has been told to monitor the culling operation.
At 6pm, Ghosh said: “The culling teams have got the cash.”
The operation would continue tomorrow.
