Bird flu scare: Central Poultry Development Organisation stops bird, egg supplies

CHANDIGARH: After one of the sample taken from the domestic geese that died in Sukhna lake here tested positive for dreaded avian flu, state-run Central Poultry Development Organisation today said it has halted all the supplies of eggs and birds as a precautionary measure.

"We have stopped the sale of all birds and eggs because of bird flu scare," CPDO (Northern Region), Director, K Ravvi Kumarr said here today.

The supplies remain suspended for 30 days, he said. CPDO supplies hatching eggs to government-owned organisations of nine states including Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, besides selling chickens and eggs among public.

"We supply 20,000 hatching eggs (seed stock) to nine states per week. Besides, we sell 300 birds and 2,000 eggs which are for general public," Kumarr said.

Asserting that all of its poultry stocks are safe, he said that CPDO had taken all precautionary measures in the wake of bird flu scare.

Nearly 35 geese had died in the Sukhna lake recently under mysterious circumstances with one of the geese being tested positive for avian influenza.

CPDO is part of Union ministry of Agriculture. It serves as single window to meet out all the technical requirements of the poultry farmers of the northern region of the country and works for the development of the poultry in India.

Poultry farmers from Barwala in Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh get their feed and ingredients tested at CPDO(NR) laboratory unit.