Civic hawk eye on chicken sale

KOLKATA: The bird flu scare showed no signs of abating. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation, on Thursday, decided to take stock of the situation, with member mayor-in-council (health) Pradip Ghosh doing the rounds of some civic markets.
Ghosh said that health department veterinary doctors would be sent to different markets to keep a watch on the sale of chickens.The doctors have been asked to prepare a detailed report.
Meanwhile, the avian quarantine unit at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport imposed a ban on all domestic and wild birds from Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Pakistan, Japan and other countries which have seen an outbreak of avian influenza.
The state government has already formed a five-member committee to step up vigil in all government and private poultry firms in the state.
However, the scare is yet to affect Kolkatans, who are loathe to give up their favourite chicken dishes.
"People are talking about bird flu, but have not stopped consuming chicken," said Pankaj Tandon, working with an elite restaurant at Camac Street. Actress Nilanjana Bhowmik said, "It is worrisome.
The way chicken are dressed in the market, there seems to be high chances of the infection spreading."
Actress Moon Moon Sen, however, said that there was no need to get panicky. "It’s not the killer flu SARS which hit South East Asian countries.
The panic is because of dissemination of misinformation," she said. Visitors at the book fair also gorged on chicken delicacies.
City doctor Anirban Bose said that there was no proof that consumption of chicken or egg can result in the disease.
"Those who handle fluinflicted chicken are at greater risk."
Subhas Anand, F&B manager of a restaurant, said, "Kolkatans love chicken. I do not know how things will unfold, but the panic is yet to grip chicken-lovers. The consumption level has not gone down as yet."