Bird flu outbreak reported in village in Kerala
Alappuzha, Dec 9: An outbreak of bird flu has been reported from Thakazhy Panchayat in Kerala's Alappuzha district prompting authorities to order culling of ducks, hens and other domestic birds within one km radius of the affected areas.
District Collector A Alexander, chaired an urgent meeting of senior officials of the district including those from departments of Animal Husbandry, Health and police on Thursday to take stock of the situation in the wake of the outbreak of the flu.
Official sources said the administration has ordered culling all chickens, ducks and other domestic birds in and around one kilometre radius of the ward No 10 of Thakazhy Grama Panchayat to prevent spread of the virus to nearby areas.
The affected area has been declared as a Containment Zone while the movement of vehicle and people in the area is prohibited, officials said.
Besides, the District Collector has also banned the use and sale of eggs, meat and manure of ducks, chickens, quails and domestic birds in the affected areas. This restriction will be applicable in Champakulam, Nedumudi, Muttar, Viyapuram, Karuvatta, Thrikkunnapuzha, Thakazhy, Purakkad, Ambalapuzha South, Ambalapuzha North, Edathva panchayats and Harippad municipal area, they said.
Rapid response teams have been constituted by the Animal Husbandry Department to cull and destroy the birds in Thakazhy.
The meeting authorised the Assistant Forest Conservator to monitor and inspect whether the migratory birds have been infected with the disease or not.
According to officials, directions were given to the Animal Husbandry Department to submit daily report on bird flu prevention activities in the district.
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Regulator DGCA eases flight duty norms for pilots amid IndiGo crisis
Mumbai (PTI): Aviation watchdog DGCA on Friday eased the flight duty norms by allowing substitution of leaves with a weekly rest period amid massive operational disruptions at IndiGo, according to sources.
As per the revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms, "no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest", which means that weekly rest period and leaves are to be treated separately. The clause was part of efforts to address fatigue issues among the pilots.
Citing IndiGo flight disruptions, sources told PTI that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has decided to withdraw the provision 'no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest' from the FDTL norms.
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"In view of the ongoing operational disruptions and representations received from various airlines regarding the need to ensure continuity and stability of operations, it has been considered necessary to review the said provision," DGCA said in a communication dated December 5.
The gaps in planning ahead of the implementation of the revised FDTL, the second phase of which came into force from November 1, have resulted in crew shortage at IndiGo and is one of the key reasons for the current disruptions.
#BREAKING: #DGCA relaxes a clause which debarred airlines to club leaves with weekly rest to mitigate #IndiGo crisis
— Economic Times (@EconomicTimes) December 5, 2025
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