April 3, 2006

Bird deaths strike fear in Indian state Karnataka, again

A truck of dead chickens arriving in the southern Indian state of Karnataka has dealt yet another blow to the battered poultry industry in India.

The dead birds were from the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu and had died of suffocation and dehydration, said the authorities. Even though the Health Minister attributed the deaths to the after effects of heat stroke, the sale of chickens in Bangalore was virtually halted and reached an all time low in other parts of the state.

The carnage has already affected close to 700,000 people in the poultry industry and caused losses of about US$160 million in Karnataka, according to the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC).

Most poultry farms are now on the verge of collapse, as they have to get large amounts of money each month to repay bank loan instalments. Many are defaulting on loans, said B R Sainath of NECC.

Moreover, various subsidies announced by successive governments since 1998 have failed to materialise.

The local poultry industry is suggesting measures be put forward to encourage poultry consumption. Such measures include state initiatives to make egg an inevitable part of the noon meal scheme in schools, as in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.