Bhubaneswar (SunstarTV Bureau): Bird flu Panic gripped among the locals of Banki area as dozens of migratory birds found lying dead on Wednesday morning.
According to sources, the residents of Banki Gada village spotted the carcass of around half a dozen of Ruddy Shelducks lying on farmlands adjacent to the village. However, some other migratory avian species were spotted wriggling in pain.
To find out the reason behind unusual deaths of birds, snake helpline members reached the village to look into the situation after the locals sought for intervention about the matter.
Though the exact reason behind the bird mortality could not be confirmed, snake helpline members have urged the Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) at Khordha to launch a probe into the deaths.
According to a snake helpline member’s statement “We cannot say exactly how the birds had died. It may be due to poisoning or poaching. We also won’t be able to claim whether the bird mortality was due to bird flu until the samples are tested.”
Official comment from the concerned authorities is still to be obtained in this connection.
On the other hand, the Odisha government has claimed that there are no reports of bird flu in the State so far.
