Chicken seller come up with offer to woo customers

KOLKATA: As panick-stricken people of bird flu-hit West Bengal have removed chicken from their meal, a chicken seller has found a novel way to woo customers by offering onion, tomato and garlic -- key ingredients of the dish -- free with every purchase of the bird.

"Chicken sales have dropped sharply after the outbreak of bird flu and I have suffered heavy losses. By offering some basic ingredients for the chicken preparation I am trying to earn some money," Bikas, a chicken seller at Dum Dum area here said.

Bikas, however, claimed he was strictly following the municipality's directive not to sell dressed chicken.

Meanwhile, the local civic body has declined comment. Chicken sales have dropped sharply all over the city after the outbreak of H5N1 among chicken in the state. People are preferring fish and crab as the price of mutton has shot up.