Thursday, March 16 2006 12:36 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Jalgaon (Maharashtra): After culling of over 3,000 chickens, the authorities here have expanded their operation to a 10-km radius in the bird flu-affected areas of the district, planning to kill 35,000 birds today(Mar 16,2006).

"Yesterday we were able to cull 3,368 birds within four hours. The culling operation, which lasted till 11 pm, involved the most affected areas under three kilometer radius. Today we will extend our operations to the 10-km surveillance zone and hope to complete culling of around 35,000 birds,"state Animal Husbandry Commissioner Bijay Kumar sources here today. The operation was confined to a three-km zone yesterday.

"The results achieved yesterday could have been higher but for Holi festival. Many people were in the celebration mood and it is not proper to get them involved in culling," Kumar said.

However, the administration got healthy response from villages where Holi was not celebrated.

"We had maximum success from Marul taluka, having a sizeable Muslim population. Here we culled 2,335 small birds and 901 large birds. We were expecting to cull 1,400 birds here. But the final count was much more due to local support," Kumar added.