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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Bird-flu outbreak rattles Nandurbar

Around 2.40 lakh hens culled, Nine-lakh eggs destroyed Mumbai: For the third time in 20 years, Avian Influenza has hit Navapur, in Nandurbar district, with over 2.40 lakhs birds culled in the past few days as worried farmers await compensation and effective vaccines. In some areas, all the infected birds in big and small farms have been eliminated by specialist teams, as per World Health Organisation (WHO) and central government’s guidelines. This is the third time after 2006 and 2021...

Bird-flu outbreak rattles Nandurbar

Around 2.40 lakh hens culled, Nine-lakh eggs destroyed Mumbai: For the third time in 20 years, Avian Influenza has hit Navapur, in Nandurbar district, with over 2.40 lakhs birds culled in the past few days as worried farmers await compensation and effective vaccines. In some areas, all the infected birds in big and small farms have been eliminated by specialist teams, as per World Health Organisation (WHO) and central government’s guidelines. This is the third time after 2006 and 2021 that the town – which produces 10-lakh eggs daily – has come under the attack of Avian Influenza, commonly known as ‘bird flu’, said Navapur Poultry Association (NPA) President Arief Balesaria. “We rank the biggest in production of eggs by Layer Chicken after Pune and Baramati. There are other egg producing centres in the state. The Layer Chicken are among the best laying hens. But in the past fortnight or so, our production has come to a complete stop,” a concerned Balesaria told The Perfect Voice. The 10-lakh eggs are sent to markets in Mumbai, Nashik, Jalgaon and even Surat, which will now be fed by other smaller suppliers from Maharashtra or other states, he said. The outbreak in Navapur started mysteriously on April 12, when a local farmer discovered five dead chickens in his farm. Initially it was suspected to be heatstroke and a local Veterinary prescribed medicines, but by afternoon more than four dozen birds were snuffed out. By next morning, the farmer lost more than 300 chickens even as other alarmed farmers in a three-km vicinity reported similar tragedies as the birds simply dropped dead without apparent symptoms, said Balesaria. In Balesaria’s own Wasim Poultry Farm, the situation was ditto – five days after the first incident, he found 55 birds dead and by that evening, over 130 were no more, though the chickens were eating normally and not appearing sick. After the local authorities were informed, samples were collected from three of the worst-hit farms and tested at the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases, Bhopal. They tested positive for the dreaded ‘Avian Influenza’, shocking the poultry farmers in Navapur. Swift Action Nandurbar Collector Dr. Mittali Sethi swung into action and declared large parts of Navapur as an ‘infected and surveillance’, spread over nearly 10 kms radius, banned all sale of poultry, bird-feed, and other related materials for three months, and local police were deployed to enforce the restrictions. Meanwhile, by Monday, the infection figures zoomed up dramatically and till May 6, over 2.40 lakhs birds have been culled, nearly 9-lakh eggs destroyed plus 210 tonnes of bird feed disposed off, said Balesaria of the sudden calamity. State and district officials have expressed apprehensions that the toll could climb much higher and have enforced strict monitoring in Navapur and also other egg-producing centres in north Maharashtra region. Culling continues with the help of 18 officers daily while over 125 veterinarians and support staff have fanned out in the affected zone. His son and third-generation independent farmer Tausif B. is grappling with his first bird-flu calamity and is worried about the future with his entire stock of 6 lakh eggs, 62,000 birds and 72-tons of feed destroyed. “This time, my farm was not affected. But according to official protocols, my 30,000 chickens were culled and over 60,000 eggs destroyed. The government has banned us from restarting or restocking for at least three months, or till July 31, when the crisis is expected to be over. Presently, we are sitting idle and helpless as the losses pile up for all the 27 NPA member-farms,” rued Balesaria. Farmers cry for better vaccines As death stalks egg farms in Navapur, distressed farmers urged the Centre to urgently permit more effective vaccines to contain the spread of Avian Influenza, as existing measures are proving inadequate. The NPA leaders claimed that the currently approved vaccines target the relatively milder H9N2 strain, while farms in the region are being devastated by the far more lethal H5N1 virus. “The government has allowed vaccines for H9N2 strain. But the Layer chickens are hit by the deadlier H5N1 strain. Vaccines for H5N1 are already in use in several countries, including China, the United States and parts of Europe. Why are we being denied access to the same protection?” asked the NPA leaders. India currently does not allow use of H5N1 vaccines, citing various concerns and relies on the traditional culling, movement restrictions and biosecurity measures in such outbreaks, though NPA alleges that Indian vaccine manufacturers are creating obstacles for getting better vaccines.

“We suspect tinkering of 1-cr votes”

Mumbai: As the Congress Leader of Opposition In Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi embarked on a high-voltage 'Voter Adhikar Yatra', the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) President Harshwardhan Sapkal made a stunning claim that in the 2024 Parliament and Assembly elections, a stupendous ‘one-crore votes’ may have been manipulated to edge out the state Opposition parties. Excerpts from an exclusive chat.

 

The Congress is tomtoming a lot about ‘Vote-Chori.’

It's not a mere slogan. For the last three months, we’ve done our own investigation - collecting inputs, deep diving into the Election Commission of India (ECI)’s data. We believe that nearly 78-lakh votes were manipulated during the November 20–23, 2024 state Assembly polls.

 

Seventy-eight lakh? That’s a massive number.

If you consider the voter additions and deletions or unusual local swells in the 6-month gap between the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, we strongly suspect the  figure could touch One Crore votes. We aren’t just crunching numbers. There are other factors, patterns that make this issue extremely serious.

 

What remedial steps have you taken?

Already, 50 writ petitions are before the courts, plus we’ve filed over 100 complaints with election Returning Officers. We’ve kept the State Election Commission fully informed. But this is not stopping here.

 

The civic bodies' elections are due soon, what’s your preparation?

Watch, Scrutiny & Vigil! Our party activists will maintain a 24x7 hawk-eye on the EVM-VVPAT strongrooms from the moment polling ends, until counting day. No more scope for mischief. In the next three months, we shall hold Division level brainstorming sessions to finalise candidates, local alliances, electoral and political strategies.

 

You are regarded as a stickler for accountability. Is that deliberate?

Absolutely. Accountability is non-negotiable. If a person is given a responsibility by the party, then how you spend your day, what activities you’ve taken up and the outcome, must be clear both to top leaders and grassroots workers. This isn’t about PR stunts. Claims can’t remain in the air, they must be backed by solid ground work.

 

Does it percolate within the MPCC?

As directed by the party high command, the work of each PCC Member will be reviewed annually. If they fall short, harsh decisions will be taken. Simply put, ‘everyone is on a one-year probation’, including me! (laughs). I have given my Report Card, others at all levels are expected to follow suit.

 

‘Accountability with Responsibility’

A soft-spoken, no-nonsense person with a dash of humour, MPCC President Harshawardhan Sapkal, 57, is known for his blunt talk, massive public outreach and an aggressive stance against the Mahayuti government on law & order, farmers, social harmony, plus other major issues.

 

The 25th state party head in 65 years (1960 onwards), Sapkal came out with a half-yearly performance card – billed as unprecedented - after he took over in Feb. 2025, listing his activities and achievements, terming it as ‘Accountability’ with major ‘Responsibility’.

 

Though he says all his campaigns were equally significant, the ‘Sadhbhavna Padyatras’ for saving the Constitution, safeguarding Democracy, Communal Harmony, Social Unity and Peace, grabbed huge attention in multiple districts this year, somewhat unnerving the Bharatiya Janata Party-Nationalist Congress Party-Shiv Sena alliance.

 

The Congress took out nearly four dozen ‘Jai Hind Tiranga’ rallies to salute the Armed Forces, candle-light processions focusing on irregularities in the 2024 Assembly polls, attacks on intellectuals and artists, several incidents of rape that raised questions on public safety vis-à-vis law & order, unchecked hate campaigns unleased by ruling party leaders targeting castes and religious communities.

 

Sapkal spearheaded agitations on stalled infrastructure projects, farmers’ distress, skyrocketing inflation, unemployment among youth, opposing the new Maharashtra Special Public Safety Bill, the compulsion of Hindi at the primary school level, attempts to polarize the society and other topics of mass concern.

 

Practically living in a suitcase, Sapkal hit the roads vigorously and toured 22 of the state’s 36 districts, engaging with party leaders-activists plus the common public, invigorating the Congress at the mass-level ahead of the civic polls.

 

“The Sadbhavna Padyatra was a campaign to safeguard Democracy and a historic initiative to curb corruption, communal politics and institutional collapse in Maharashtra. The MPCC will perform as the state’s ‘Watchdog’ to defend the people, from tense districts to urban flashpoints and reassure the masses that we are with them,” a determined Sapkal told ‘The Perfect Voice’.

 

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