Members of the Sudha Kunj Society in Memnagar, Ahmedabad, line the road outside their home, wearing masks and holding up placards that read ‘Save Us’.
The residents are protesting the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s method of handling the bird flu threat in their locality. Only a six-foot road separates their residential complex from an open ground where culled birds were buried after the spread of avian influenza.
The Sarva Dharma Rakshak Seva Trust runs a bird shelter on this ground, where over 200 guinea fowls were brought from nearby Vastral area, after a trucker dumped them in early January.
On 12 January, nearly 1,500 birds had been culled at Hathijan on Ahmedabad’s outskirts after the bird flu infection was detected. The residents are upset that it took so long to take action in their area and that the infected birds were discreetly culled and buried in the ground.
At the spot where the birds have been buried, the AMC has put up posters prohibiting people from entering the area as it was bird-flu-infected. There are, however, still tented enclosures that were used to cure injured birds.
The ground is surrounded by high-rise buildings. A municipal park across the road also has its entry restricted now, though resident Nilaben Mehta told The Indian Express that the municipal party plot across the road held wedding functions as recently as Thursday night. The highly populated area also has a private school.
In the backdrop of this ‘surreptitious’ burying was the ongoing Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit (VGGS).
Resident Munjal Mehta said that in the first three days since the birds were buried, fogging was done thrice or four times a day.
Another resident, Shalin Zariwala, said:
Other residents question how the sealed area could be opened up two days later to bury more birds. Two petitions have been filed in the Gujarat High Court.
In the meantime, AMC health officer Dr Bhavin Solanki said the culling operations were kept secret to avoid public panic.
Source: The Indian Express
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