The district bordering Maharashtra’s Navapur in Gujarat has reported incidents of chickens being infected with the dreaded H5N1 bird flu virus. As usual, the Government claimed that it has the situation under control ordering the culling of 68,000 birds. Besides, it is maintaining a watch on 5,000 backyard grown birds. Over the last 10 days, farmers have been reporting death of chicken due to "mysterious" reasons. At first, the Government asserted that this was the Ranikhet disease and later admitted that it was the bird flu. Samples are being sent to High Security Diseases Laboratory in Bhopal. The state has doled out Rs. 2.7 million as compensation to farmers who lost their stock of chicken. Meanwhile, organized poultry farmers and Poultry Welfare Association are campaigning to demonstrate that chicken, even if infected, are safe to eat when cooked. They are distributing free chicken, organizing chicken cooking fests, and eating them in public. Members of Parliament and state assemblies who count on support from the industry and who own poultry farms themselves were also doing the same in public