Bird flu scare: 24 crows found dead in Jasola park, 10 ducks die at Sanjay Lake

NEW DELHI: Amid bird flu scare in the national capital, at least 24 crows have been found dead at a district park in south Delhi's Jasola in the past three days and 10 ducks have died at the famous Sanjay Lake, officials said on Saturday.

The DDA, which owns a large number of parks in the city, said authorities are monitoring the situation closely.

"The samples of ducks found dead have been taken by the veterinary department authorities to ascertain if the cause of death was bird flu or not," a senior DDA official said.


On the death of crows, the DDA has informed the Delhi government's forest department, he said.

"We are monitoring the situation very closely as DDA owns a large number of public parks many of which have water bodies," the official said.

Asked what steps the DDA authorities might take in view of the situation, he said all parks are open as of now.

"However, at places like Hauz Khas, which has a big lake, where a lot of birds flock to, security personnel are cautioning them to avoid visiting given the bird flu scare," the official said.

Other DDA parks include Coronation Park in Burari, Japanese Park in Rohini and various biodiversity parks.

Amid a bird flu scare, at least 35 crows have died in the national capital in the last few days and the samples have been sent to labs for testing, the officials had said on Friday.

An official of the animal husbandry unit had said around 50 birds, mostly crows, had died over the last three to four days in these three areas.

"We received information about the death of crows in Dwarka, Mayur Vihar Phase 3 and Hastsal village in west Delhi. However, it is yet to be ascertained if bird flu infection is the reason," Dr Rakesh Singh from the department had said.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had instructed officials on Friday to maintain a strict vigil on birds at major bird sites, especially poultry markets, water bodies, zoos and other potential hotspots.

On Friday, the Centre said bird flu has been confirmed so far in six states — Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat.