Of Word-Jacking and the Birdflu President

It seems very likely that the next US president will encounter the BirdFlu Pandemic in America during the next four years.

 

Read on.

 

 

It is now almost certain that the US of A will sleep walk in to another nightmare lasting at least a further four years.

All because Bill Clinton “did not have sex with that woman”?

How does that take any thing away from one of the most successful women of our time?

What did she do?

 

I mean, other than not letting any event in her personal or public life bring her down.

 

what did she do?

 

I know. She is not black. That must be it.

So America elects another novice who is still waiiting for the President of Canada to speak to him.

Like Bush he will, I am told, have the best people to guide him.  

 

These “best people” will be guiding the new President through a most crucial time for the world.

 

At a time when China and Russia are rapidly moving in to a cold war posture, not to mention the problems in Iran in Pakistan (hope he will NOT bomb Pakistan) and in the caves in Afghanistan!

This is hardly the time to take chances.

I had recently written a post about WORD-JACKING by Bush and by Obama.

It has now been turned in to a video on the UTube by some one who apparently can also see through the all pervasive fog of National guilt and political opportunism.

Here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4tzfpSUzQ8

 

Never thought that after the disasters of the last eight years, I would be supporting a Republican candidate for the post of the next president!

BIRD FLU - Wild Birds or the “Factory Poultry Farms”?

BIRD FLU -  Wild Birds or the “Factory Poultry Farms”? 

 

The role of migratory birds and of poultry trade in the dispersal of highly pathogenic H5N1 is still the topic of intense and controversial debate.

 

On one side we have the mighty poultry farming sector, applying all kinds of pressure to absolve the “factory farms” from any blame for the increasing number of outbreaks of the H5N1 and other viruses.

 

From the Poultry farming sector’s point of view it is the wild birds, that bring the virus from the bird flu afflicted countries and infect the domestic poultry.

 

On the other side, we have equally passionate arguments from those who believe that it is the “factory farms” think Barnard Matthews, that are to blame for creating the un-natural conditions that result in the growth of the viruses.

 

Below is a “discussion” from the Virology Journal,  in a “provisional PDF document”:

 

http://www.virologyj.com/content/pdf/1743-422x-5-57.pdf

 

What it is saying is that they are still talking about this and not ready to say one way or another!

 

Then there is an article from PETA, :

 

PETA warns of deadly link between Factory-Farm Filth and Bird Flu

 

Here is the article:

http://www.indiaprwire.com/pressrelease/other/200805079360.htm

The growing Danger from the Zoonoses.

Zoonoses are defined by the WHO as “Diseases and infections which are naturally transmitted between vertebrate animals and man”.

 

In an article in the scientific American today, David Biello says that the best way to beat bird flu and other zoonotic diseases, he says, is to keep humans and wildlife healthy.

 

A zoonotic agent may be a bacterium, virus, fungus, parasite, or other communicable agent.

Zoonoses cover a broad and growing range of diseases and they can be transmitted by bacterium, virus, fungus, parasite, or a number of other (also growing) agents.

A recent study shows that these zoonoses such as H5N1 bird flu, West Nile and Ebola now account for as much as 58 percent of human pathogens and the number is growing fast.

 

In just the past five years, WHO has identified more than 1,000 epidemics stemming from such pathogens.

 

“There are more flu infections in more countries than ever before,” said veterinarian William Karesh, head of the Field Veterinary Program of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), during a WSC Conferance in New York City last week.

 

These diseases are hard to stop because they are not only spread by wild animals, mosquitoes and the like but, even more commonly, by billions of livestock animals, such as chickens, ducks and geese raised for food in vast factory farms.

 

Zoonotic outbreaks are triggered by a range of factors, including man-made changes to natural habitats that bring humans into contact with wildlife as well as airplanes and other forms of transport that allow “speedy, long-range dissemination of any disease agent,” says veterinarian Arnon Shimshoni of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

 

“There is an artificial distinction between the health of wildlife, livestock and people,” Karesh said. Sickness in one of these groups, can mean sickness in all.

Credits:

 

www.birdflubreakingnews.com

 

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/zoonoses/

 

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=how-to-clip-bird-flus-wings

The Great American Hope Trick

It is always good to hope.

Leaders such as JFK and Dr King have shown the world, the meaning of hope by their actions.

But over the recent years, words like hope and patriotism, honor, honesty, integrity, sincerity have shown to be any thing but what they are supposed to be.

There was the patriotism act, which at a stroke, took away most of our rights and freedoms.

But then how would you vote against the patriotism act?

 

I am patriotic.

 

That is a given.

 

My opponents are not patriotic by definition, since the oppose me.

If you are not with me then you are obviously not patriotic.

 

I call this “Word Hijacking”.

 

Claiming an exclusive ownership of a word in such a way, that only I am the owner of that word and all that it stands for.

A really cynical, but increasingly popular way to handle the American masses.

The word HOPE  has been used in great dollops, during the current US Presidential race in the.

That is another example of Word Hijacking.

I call that the “Great American Hope Trick”.

I bring you hope.

 

That is a given.

 

My opponents do not bring you hope by definition, since they oppose me.

If you are not with me therefore, there is no hope for you or your family.

Now that is one better than just audacity.

That is Khutzpah from hell.

A cruel and cynical mass illusion for the American people, who are easy targets, as they are starving for hope in their lives and honesty from their leaders, after the disasters of the last 8 years.

 

The only “hope” that I see now, is that McCain (who has repeatedly surprised me in a positive way during this campaign) will win this race for the top job.

Never thought that I would be supporting a Republican candidate!

 

I “hope” that the Americans will not once again be thrown out to the expertise and the personal beliefs of the “advisers” of the new President, who has to depend on them, as he wants to learn-as-he-goes.

 

America can not afford another one of those.

 

 

Combodia Fights the Bird Flu virus

Here are three video news bulletins from the Apsara News Cambodia, telling us about the efforts of the Government of Cambodia, Border authorities, in their fight against the H5N1 virus.

Interesting.

 Video 1. 

 http://www.probetv.com/view_video.php?viewkey=55c253d0e60dbfa71672

Video 2.

http://www.probetv.com/view_video.php?viewkey=773755d2857aacadb1cb&page=&viewtype=&category=

Video 3.

http://www.probetv.com/view_video.php?viewkey=211726dcce4c0e971e21&page=&viewtype=&category=

Bird-Flu-Free Zones to be set up in Pakistan

Do you remember the time, when there were Smoking and No Smoking sections in all of the flights?

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This meant that of the, ten rows of seats in the Business Class of an aircraft, the first few were Non Smoking and the remaining seats immediately behind those seats, were Smoking seats, or vice verse.

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No body seemed to have mentioned the above arrangement to the smoke from the cigarettes however.

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The smoke would naturally waft along the entire section of the business class.

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Pakistan is one of the few places on the planet, where smoking is still pretty much allowed in most places.

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May be that is why the Government of Pakistan has come up with a brilliant plan to fight the Bird Flu virus in that country.

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The powers that be in Pakistan (not sure if any one knows who they are at this time) have decided that they are to create Bird-flu-Free-Zones in the country.

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These Bird-Flu-Free -Zones will be areas of Pakistan,  where the Bird Flu virus will be banned.

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I guess that means that the rest of Pakistan will be free to have the H5N1 virus roam around at will!

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Exactly how this Moses like separation of natural elements is to be managed is not very clear.

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However, here are excerpts from a report from The News: 

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The Government of Pakistan is considering setting up ‘bird flu free zones’ and ‘poultry disease free units’ containing all bio-security measures in order to control the avian influenza .

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The sources said that all possible steps would be taken at the proposed zones to prevent the virus and diseases.

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The main focus will be on disposal of birds, restriction of wild birds and visitors, disinfection of vehicles, proper vaccination techniques, use of anti-viral spray and maintenance of health environment.

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Moreover, the sources said that there were (currently) no rules and regulations for registration of poultry farms though in the past there was some procedure wherein the Agriculture Development Bank used to grant loans for setting up farms with requirement to produce feasibility report.

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However, if the number of birds (at a poultry farm) was 100,000 or over, then a feasibility report as well as induction of a doctor was deemed necessary.

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Director Poultry Production and Research Sindh (PPRS), Dr Ali Akbar Soomro said that they have trained 16 ‘master trainers’, who have been provided necessary kits to conduct regular surveillance of poultry farms, he told The News.

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Moreover, the institute has set up three laboratories in Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur respectively, while seven teams are engaged in creating awareness against the diseases across the province.

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They are working in 14 districts and do not have staff in the newly-created nine more districts of the province, Soomro said.

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However, their areas of concerns are commercial layer farms, commercial broiler farms, backyard poultry and pet birds, where they are stressing for adopting preventive measures. Dr Ali Akbar Soomro added.

Barack Obama takes that “3 AM” Call (Electing Bird Flu President USA)

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Many believe that in addition to all the domestic, economic and diplomatic disasters facing the next US President, there could well be an added disaster of the Bird Flu pandemic looming just over the horizon.

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So we have been taking a look at the candidates for the job of the President of America and the way we all feel about them during the election process.

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It was last week, when that dreaded 3AM (BIG PROBLEM) call came to the phone sitting on Barack Obama’s desk.

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The time of the call may not have been exactly 3 AM, but that is not the point here.

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Barack Obama was asked about a report that a senior official had given back-channel reassurances to Canada soft-pedaling Mr. Obama’s tough talk on Nafta.

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CTV, a Canadian television network, had reported that an Obama official had called the Canadian ambassador in Washington to play down the significance of Mr. Obama’s criticism of Nafta.

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There was was a firm reaction from Obama, as befits a Commander-In-Chief-in-Waiting.

With his usual look of sincerity and absolute honesty, he denied that any such conversation had taken place.

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“It did not happen.” He said.

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When WKYC-TV in Ohio asked Mr. Obama about the CTV report, he said: “I don’t have to clarify it. The Canadian Embassy already clarified it by saying the story was not true. And our office has said the story was not. And so I think it’s important for viewers to understand that it was not true.” When pressed, he said, “It did not happen.”

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Obama’s campaign mobilized as well to strongly refute the above mentioned report of any back-channel reassurances to Canada.

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“At no point did anyone in our campaign convey to anyone that there had been any backing away from Obama’s position on Nafta,” a campaign spokesman, Bill Burton, said Monday.

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That is of course, how a strong Comander-In-Chief-in-Waiting and his campaign should act, immediately and decisively.

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The only thing is, that the denials by Obama and his campaign were er… less than the truth.

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On Monday,a memorandum surfaced, obtained by The Associated Press, showing that Austan D. Goolsbee, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago  who is Mr. Obama’s senior economic policy adviser, met officials last month at the Canadian consulate in Chicago.

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According to the writer of the memorandum, Joseph De Mora, a political and economic affairs consular officer, Professor Goolsbee assured them that Mr. Obama’s protectionist stand on the trail was “more reflective of political maneuvering than policy.”

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It also said the professor had assured the Canadians that Mr. Obama’s language “should be viewed as more about political positioning than a clear articulation of policy plans.”

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So that was how Senator Barack Obama, the Commander-In-Chief-in-Waiting responded to his first Big Problem “3 AM” call.

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Source: The New York Times

Bird-Flu Olympic Games in Beijing?

Other than inviting the His Holiness the Dalai Lama to officiate the ceremony, China would do almost any thing to ensure the success of the Olympic Games to be held in Beijing later this year.

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The Olympic Games are to be the showcase of the new soon to be a superpower.

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Nothing must be allowed to stand in the way of the spectacular events and ceremonies planned by the Chinese Government for duration of the games.

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There is one little thing however, that has been causing increasing concern for the rulers of China.

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It is of course the Bird Flu virus, which seems have returned to China, its country of origin, and is randomly manifesting it self in various parts of the country, over the last year or so.

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There have been human victims of the deadly virus in China and the BirdFlu has also been found in wild birds and domestic poultry in China.

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According to the authorities in the southern Chinese special administrative region (Hong Kong) there are now reports of yet another bird, a dead oriental magpie robin, suspected to have died of the H5 bird flu virus. -                    -The dead bird was collected near the management center in Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve on Friday, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said, adding that the case was subject to further confirmatory tests.

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At the same time, there have been rumors of a young girl who had apparently succumbed to the Bird Flu virus in Hong Kong.

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A local newspaper reported yesterday that the three-year-old girl ’s death was probably caused by the deadly H5N1 strain of virus, triggering worries of possible outbreak of human-to-human bird flu pandemic.

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According to the Centre for Health Protection, the younger girl came down with fever, cough, runny nose and vomiting on Feb. 29 and consulted a private doctor on the same day. She sought medical treatment from Tuen Mun Hospital on March 1, but her condition deteriorated and she died that evening.

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Dr. Thomas Tsang the controller of the Centre for Health Protection of Hong Kong said that the six-year-old girl was admitted to Tuen Mun Hospital on March 2 and her three- year-old sister, who also suffered from flu-like illness symptoms, died on March 1.

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Dr. Tsang said the girl’s death was a rare occurrence and a post-mortem will be conducted yesterday.

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That is what I am worried about.

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With the Beijing Olympic Games only months away, would the Chinese authorities admit to any human fatalities resulting from the Bird Flu virus in China?

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Censorship in China is the norm rather than an exception, could it be that the Chinese Government would try and hush up any such cases and not report them to the WHO?

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I mean the Chines do not want the Beijing Olympic Games to be known as the Bird Flu Olympics do they?

Sources:

Macau Daily Times

China.org

birdflubreakingnews

“OBAMA SPEAK” Electing Bird Flu President USA

Many believe that in addition to all the domestic, economic and diplomatic disasters facing the next US President, there could well be an added disaster of the Bird Flu pandemic looming just over the horizon.

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So we have been taking a look at the candidates for the job of the President of America and the way we all feel about them during the election process.

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One of the most interesting things to have come to light recently is the “Obama Speak” for lying to the nation, about his proclamations about NAFTA.

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What did his man tell the Canadians?

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“It is more politics than policy”

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Now that is what I call eloquent!

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Normally that would be OK. We all know how politicians are!

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However, when some one like Obama, who has nothing else to show for but his “honesty”, shows him self to be less than honest, then it really, really hurts. 

Animals To Humans Infectious Diseases Map

From the BBC, a map of the world, showing risk levels of emerging diseases transmitted from wildlife.

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The researchers say the majority of hotspots are located in lower-latitude developing nations.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/sci_nat_enl_1203600692/html/1.stm

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Electing the Bird Flu President USA

It is clear to us all that the next President of the USA is likely to encounter all kinds of serious problems.

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Many believe that in addition to all the domestic, economic and diplomatic disasters facing the next US Presidet, there could well be an added disaster of the Bird Flu pandemic looming just over the horizon.

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So we have been taking a look at the candidates for the job of the President of America and the way we all feel about them during the election process.

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During the last few months one thing has become very clear about the way the Americans elect their President.

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The US election 08 clearly tells us that in America, no matter how qualified a woman is, she has very little chance of getting the top job, against a man who wants the same job.

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It is much more important for the Americans to see how the woman looks, sounds or pleases them in some other way, than it is to see if she is the best qualified for the job.

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We can all deny this but if we are really honest about it, we would all have to admit this as a fact.

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It is like getting a male pilot with only one year training to fly a jumbo jet, because he is a man and “he inspires us”, as opposed to a woman who has flown jumbo jets for decades and has weathered all kinds of storms, but “we do not like her”.

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But then that is how George W was elected.

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Was he not the guy you could have a drink with?

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Of course the fact that GW had no idea about running a country, was no problem as he could always “surround himself with the best”!

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We deserve what we get and should not moan about it after the fact.

Is Anjalina Paslain from India, infected with the Bird Flu Virus?

Is Anjalina Paslain, the 21 year old girl from Shillong, infected with the Bird Flu Virus?

National Institute of Communicable Diseases in Delhi is “not ruling out the possibility of bird flu”

Via The Times of India

SHILLONG: A girl suspected to be suffering from bird flu was admitted at Shillong Civil Hospital on Thursday sending Meghalaya health department into a tizzy. State Director of Health Services Dr K H Lakiang said the 21-year-old girl, Anjalina Paslain was admitted with fever and rashes and had been kept in the isolation ward.

The girl, who hails from Sipung in the Jaintia Hills district was first admitted at the local health center, after which she was taken to a private hospital in Shillong, which during the day referred her to the government civil hospital.

Dr Lakiang said: “The blood and stool samples have been collected and will be sent for tests for bird flu virus to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases in Delhi on Friday,” he said.

“Nothing can be said as of now,” he said, while not ruling out the possibility of bird flu.

District Surveillance Officer (Integrated Diseases Surveillance Cell) Dr M Basaiawmoit and other senior officials of the health department also did not rule out the possibility, but said nothing could be confirmed till the test results were received.

Sources:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Suspected_bird-flu_case_in_Meghalaya/articleshow/2802452.cms

www.birdflubreakingnews.com

Free Chicken Curry for all In Calcutta

The outbreak of the bird flu virus has had a devastating effect on the poultry industry in India.

Eight districts in West Bengal have been hit by the virus — more than 100,000 bird deaths have been reported — with teams racing to cull two million chickens and ducks.

The fear of the possibility of a human bird flu outbreak, has resulted in a large number of peaple removing chicken from their diet.

“I would not like my children to eat chicken right now” Said Mayawati Dogra, a house wife in Calcutta. (now known as Kolkata) “I know they say that it is safe to eat chicken, but why take a chance?” said Mayawati.

Although the flu is restricted to West Bengal, crashing wholesale prices and ban on exports, internal and external, are affecting the industry across the country.

Venkateshwara Hatcheries, the largest poultry group in Asia, says its wholesale price across the country dropped from an average of Rs 38 to Rs 26 a kg.

Another reason for falling prices is the ban on movement of eggs and poultry to and from West Bengal, creating a surplus of eggs in the market.

The glut in market is also due to an export ban following the outbreak of bird flu.

Before the outbreak, India was exporting 110 million table eggs and 1.2 million hatching eggs.

The Poultry industry in West Bengal is facing a major crises.

As a solution for the above, the state government of West Bengal is trying to make chicken meat the preferred choice of people in Kolkata.

A ‘mahabhoj’ or a grand feast was organised in Kolkata where, 2000 kilogrammes of chicken were cooked and distributed for free. Ranges of delicacies were on offer, from succulent kebabs to creamy curries and delicious biryani. More than 4000 people attended the costly feast.

 

 

“Chicken is very healthy. It has less cholesterol and is very nutritious,” says Exec Member, WB Poultry Forum, Amlan Mahajan.

West Bengal’s Minister for Animal Husbandry, Anisur Rehman, who ordered culling of chicken when bird flu was first reported, is now working with poultry farmers to re-assure people that this meat is safe to consume.

Sources:

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/after-bird-flu-a-chicken-feast-in-kolkata/59398-3.html

www.birdflubreakingnews.com