By reciprocal arrangement with Star of Mysore
 
Mysore, Mar 23 : Panicked over the collapse of poultry market following bird flu bogie, which has led to a loss of Rs. 200 crore since February 18 in Karnataka and Rs. 7,000 crore in India, the Mysore Poultry Farmers' Association and National Egg Co-ordination Committee (NECC) on Thursday March 23, staged a demonstration here urging the Government to take immediate steps to save the industry.

Poultry farmers and their employees, numbering about 150, staged the demonstration till noon before the Deputy Commissioner's office along with birds and 25 crates of eggs.

In a memorandum submitted to the deputy commissioner S Selvakumar, the Association urged the State Government to give wide publicity through print and electronic media to the fact that there was not a single case of bird flu in the State and there was no need to panic.

Poultry industry in Karnataka was suffering a loss of Rs. 6 crore daily due to bird flu scare.

Talking to Star of Mysore, NECC Zonal Convenor M P Satish Babu alleged that the bird flu scare was a conspiracy hatched by MNCs to market their costly drug Tamiflu which is sold at Rs. 100 per tablet. The disease affecting birds elsewhere in India was in fact Raniket and not bird flu as rumoured.

Quoting from World Health Organisation (WHO) report this year, Satish Babu said that only 90 people had died in the last 10 years worldover while the deaths due to TB and Malaria were three crores and two crores respectively. AIDS alone is claiming 40 lakh lives every year.

Compared to these figures, the deaths due to bird flu were negligible and the problem was not so serious as is made out to be.

Satish Babu and Association President Rajashekaragowda urged the Government to waive interest on the loans taken by the poultry farmers and sanction fresh loans at the interest rate of 6 per cent. They also demanded loan recovery holiday till the industry recovered.

They also urged the Government to announce support price for eggs as the price per egg had fallen from Rs. 1.25 to 50 ps though the cost of production was Rs. 1.15.