Baramulla,Dec 28: Poultry farmers in this district today said that they had lost thousands of birds to deadly Ranikhet so far, yet the authorities were not taking any measures to check the rising mortality in poultry birds.
The farmers said they faced huge monetary losses due to the outbreak of the diease.
The farmers of Wagoora, Kreeri, Kalantara, Pattan, Rafiabad, Tangmarg, Shreeri, Chandoosa, Kandi, and Sopore areas have suffered massive financial losses during last three weeks, they said.
According to the farmers the mortality rate of the poultry had shown steep increase for last three days as the Animal Husbandry Department had failed to control the mortality rate.
"Not a single team from the department has visited these areas to take stock of losses the farmers have suffered", the farmers told Greater Kashmir.
They alleged that the field men of the department were seen nowhere since the outbreak of the disease. “The department has not vaccinated the chicken this year as used to be the practice previously,” they said.
The farmers in Kalantara said: "Had the department arranged the vaccination programmes, the loss could have been minimized."
The infection is spreading to other areas yet the department was taking no visible steps to check it, they said.
The farm owners alleged that the department had failed to provide them expert advice from time to time.
Meanwhile, the poultry dealers threatened to go for agitation, if the government did not take visible steps to check the infection.
They appealed the government to provide compensation to them for the loss they suffered due the disease.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 28 Dec 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 28 Dec 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 29 Dec 2012 00:00:00 IST