Rourkela, Jan 9: As the blood sample of birds came out to be positive for H5N1 virus here, on Sunday the culling process began at Kacharu and Rampur villages here. It’s stated that five teams were formed for the culling process. Around 2000 chickens within one kilometer radius from Kacharu village were culled. However, locals of Chatakatola opposed the culling of fowls and demanded to start culling at chicken firms first.
Notably, four days prior, blood samples were collected from the chickens in the area and were sent to Bhopal for test, which came out as positive for H5N1 virus. As a precautionary measure, the administration also shut down Indira Gandhi Park, a major tourist destination in the city, for seven days after some pelicans tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus.
