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The Government continued with its cavalier attitude saying that it
will dispatch 50 Rapid Response Teams to carry out
culling, disposal, and cleanup operations. While the
authorities say that only 4000-5000 birds exist in the
area, an independent report says that the number is
close to 75,000. After culling operations were over in Navapur, the Public Health Minister Vimal Mundada
categorically insisted that the scare was over and now
a Government spokesperson trivialized the issue saying
that the infected area was “very small.” The
spokesperson claimed “the virus remained dormant for
sometime before becoming active again.” The Federal
Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar named 4
villages in Jalgaon as being affected.
The Government has no system in place to monitor avian
life, educate population on the danger of the
epidemic, sample birds, proactively report findings,
and take remedial steps. A Non-Government Organization
based out of Mumbai has been studying the trends but
it is not clear how many scientists they have on the
field or their methodology. Still there is no data to
show how the epidemic showed up in the Western part of
India. The Government had promised a epidemiological
study to pinpoint the origins of the disease in India
but no data is forthcoming about this proposed study,
its timetable, or findings.
Meanwhile, poultry industry, politicians with interests in
poultry farming, bureaucrats, and cine actors have
been actively promoting poultry as safe. They have
distributed free chicken in many cities. The
Government seems to have an ostrich mentality to the
disease believing that hiding data and information is
better to full disclosure.
It is only in India that the Government claims that the
disease has not spread. Russia, Nigeria, Europe,
Turkey, and China have reported rapid spread of
disease.
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