Bird flu: Culling of birds begins in two districts of Kerala
Alappuzha/Kottayam: Culling of chickens and ducks began on Tuesday in parts of two districts in Kerala to contain H5N8 strain of bird flu there, official sources said.
Rapid response teams, set up by the administration, began culling ducks, hens and other domestic birds in and around a one km radius of the affected areas in Alappuzha and Kottayam districts on Tuesday morning as per the guidelines issued by the government, they said.
The operation was launched a day after results of the samples tested at the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal confirmed the outbreak of the bird flu in the two districts.
Alappuzha district authorities said culling of birds in four panchayats of Nedumudi, Thakazhy, Pallippad and Karuvatta in Kuttanad region, where the outbreak has been reported, was expected to be completed by Wednesday evening.
In Karuvatta panchayat alone, around 12,000 birds will be culled, an official said.
In the affected areas of Neendoor panchayat in Kottayam district, the rapid response teams have culled some 3,000 birds so far, authorities said.
Around 1,700 ducks had died in a farm in Neendoor due to the viral infection.
Officials have said around 40,000 domestic birds, including 34,000 in Kuttanad region alone, will be culled to check the spread of the H5N8 virus.
Although the situation has been brought under control, authorities have sounded a high alert in the districts, considering the potential of the virus to infect humans.
The Alappuzha District Collector has banned the use and trade of meat, eggs and waste of domestic birds, including ducks and chicken, in Kuttanad and Karthikappalli Taluks, officials said.
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UP: Misled by GPS navigation, car falls into river from partially constructed bridge, 3 dead
Bareilly (UP), Nov 24: Three people died when their car fell into the Ramganga river from a partially constructed bridge here on Sunday, police said, adding that they suspect the driver was misled by its navigation system into taking the unsafe route.
The accident occurred around 10 am on the Khalpur-Dataganj road when the victims were travelling from Bareilly to Dataganj in the Badaun district, they said.
"Earlier this year, floods had caused the front portion of the bridge to collapse into the river, but this change had not been updated in the system," Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam said.
The driver was using a navigation system and did not realise that the bridge was unsafe, driving the car off the damaged section, the police said.
There were no safety barriers or warning signs on the approach to the damaged bridge, leading to the fatal accident, Shivam said.
Upon receiving information, police teams from Faridpur, Bareilly and Dataganj police station rushed to the spot. They recovered the vehicle and the bodies from the river, Shivam added.
The circle officer said that bodies had been sent for post-mortem. Further investigation into the matter is underway.
— Bareilly Police (@bareillypolice) November 24, 2024
