Daijiworld Media Network - Patna
Patna, Feb 28: Nearly 6,000 chickens have been culled in Bihar’s capital after avian influenza was confirmed at a government-run poultry facility.
Officials said the infection was detected at the Poultry Research and Training Centre operated by Bihar Animal Sciences University in the Kaushal Nagar locality of Chitkohra, close to the airport area. Following laboratory confirmation of bird flu, the state’s Dairy, Fisheries and Animal Resources Department directed the immediate culling and scientific burial of all birds at the centre.
The surrounding locality has been thoroughly sanitised, and residents have been urged to adhere to strict precautionary guidelines. Acting on directions from the Patna District Magistrate, authorities have imposed a complete ban on the movement of chickens and roosters into and out of municipal limits.
The district administration has marked a one-kilometre radius around the affected farm as an infection zone, while a nine-kilometre radius has been designated as a surveillance zone. Transportation of eggs, live poultry, and feed into these areas is prohibited unless accompanied by valid sanitisation certification.
Given the densely populated stretch near the Chitkohra bridge, monitoring has been intensified. A check-post has been set up in Kaushal Nagar, with personnel from Shastri Nagar and bypass police stations deployed round the clock. Entry into the poultry facility without masks has been barred.
As a precautionary measure, authorities at Sanjay Gandhi Jaivik Udyan have stepped up preventive arrangements. Visitors are permitted to observe peacocks and other birds only from a minimum distance of eight feet. Insecticide spraying is being carried out around enclosures, disinfectants are being applied at entry gates, and staff have been provided protective masks. Zoo officials confirmed that no bird flu cases have been reported within the premises so far.
In addition, poultry farming has been suspended for two months in the affected and adjoining areas, and public movement near the infection zone has been restricted as part of containment efforts.