Day after, survey of houses begins

Rajinder Nagarkoti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 19

A day after completing the exercise of culling 110 domesticated geese at Sukhna Lake, the UT Administration today began a 10-day-long exercise of surveying houses located within a 3-km radius of the lake. Nearly 5,000 residents were examined today.

The UT Administration today issued orders under Section 144 of the CrPC and banned the entry of people and other activities at Sukhna Lake and the surrounding areas for 30 days.

The UT staff fumigated stairs and the walking track at the lake this morning.

The UT Administration has decided to take blood samples of migratory birds as well. A team of experts from the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases Laboratory, Bhopal, will come to the city on December 24 to take blood samples of migratory birds. The same team will also collect water samples from the lake.

The Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (RDDL), Jalandhar, today prepared a report on the geese-culling operation undertaken at the lake last night and sent it to the Union Government. The report, prepared by Dr Vinay Mohan, Joint Director, RDDL, Jalandhar, was sent through Dr Lovelesh Kant Gupta, Joint Director, UT Animal Husbandry Department. Dr Mohan said they had reported to the Union Government that the guidelines and directives for the culling operation were complied with.

The Centre has not issued any fresh guidelines after the culling operation was over.

This morning, teams of experts deputed by the UT Health Department surveyed over 500 houses to determine transmission of the H5N1 virus to humans in the wake of the first case of avian or bird flu confirmed in the city on Tuesday. The survey, which will continue for the next 10 days involving 260 health workers from the city, including nodal officers from Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana, was conducted in several areas, including Sectors 1,2 and 3, and Kishangarh village. Nearly 5,000 residents were examined.

In the afternoon, at a meeting between senior officials of the Chandigarh Administration and Vinay Mohan, Joint Director, RDDL, Jalandhar, the decision to take blood samples of migratory birds was also taken. 

Confirming the development, officiating Deputy Commissioner-cum-MC Commissioner Vivek Pratap Singh said though there was no outbreak of bird flu in the city, the Administration would take blood samples of the migratory birds at the lake. No mortality of migratory birds has been reported by the staff of the UT Administration or local residents, he said.

UT Chief Conservator of Forests-cum-Chief Wildlife Warden Santosh Kumar said a team of experts from the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases Laboratory, Bhopal, will visit the city to collect blood samples of migratory birds. The staff of the UT Animal Husbandry Department and the Forest and Wildlife Department will assist the experts in collecting the samples, he said.

Lovelesh Kant Gupta, Joint Director, UT Animal Husbandry Department, said a team from the Bhopal laboratory will reach the city around December 24 to take the samples. The report would be ready nearly five days after that, he said.

A senior UT official said during the winter, migratory birds began flocking the lake and water bodies in the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary. Among the regular winged guests to the city, ruddy shelducks, white-eyed pochards, common pochards, ferruginous pochards, tufted ducks and greylag goose had arrived in the city. So far, about seven to nine species of migratory birds had reached the city. These migratory birds came from Siberia, China and other parts of the world during November and December and they stayed in the city till March, he said.

According to a recent census, a total of 585 birds of resident and migratory species were sighted at 

the lake. The Centre had yesterday notified the outbreak of avian influenza in captive ducks and geese at Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh.

Sarpanches lead awareness drives Village sarpanches came forward today to spread awareness among residents. Gurwinder Kaur, sarpanch of Kishangarh, a village adjoining Sukhna Lake, along with Zila Parishad member Manoj Lubana, today spread awareness among village residents. Gurwinder Kaur said as the lake where the geese were culled was adjoining their village, the residents had been asked not to go to the lake till further orders. Mostly village residents do not read newspapers, so we thought it necessary to spread awareness among them, she said.

(With inputs from Bipin Bhardwaj and Ritika Jha Palial) 

Prohibitory orders

The UT Administration on Friday issued orders under Section 144 of the CrPC and banned the entry of people and other activities at Sukhna Lake and the surrounding areas for 30 days. The orders issued by officiating Deputy Commissioner Vivek Pratap Singh stated that “keeping in view the urgency of the matter, the area has already been cordoned off and no person is being allowed to go near the lake. No person will be allowed to enter the lake compound, including the service area of Lake Cafeteria and Lake Club. The above order will not apply to government employees/servants on official duties. The order will come into force with immediate effect and remain in force for a period of 30 days, if not revoked earlier”.