Kerala government lifts ban on poultry products

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ban on poultry products that was imposed last month in 13 villages has been lifted, said a Kerala minister. State Minister for Agriculture KP Mohanan informed the assembly here on Wednesday that the ban was enforced last month after an avian flu outbreak in 13 village councils in Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta and Kottayam districts was confirmed to be due to H5N1 virus. “Whatever ban was there on poultry products in the affected places has been lifted following the return of normalcy,“ said Mohanan.

In the middle of last month, problems cropped up in a few places in the three districts when ducks started dropping dead. And when it started spreading in the locality, the government banned transportation of any poultry product from these village councils apart from culling the over three lakh birds.

The worst affected due to this were the nearly 600 houseboats that ply in the Vembanad lake that passes through Kottayam and Alappuzha districts as poultry products were banned on board these houseboats.