The Department of Public Health, Coimbatore, will soon issue notice to poultry firm owners asking them to comply with the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Public Health Act, 1939.
According to the Deputy Director, Public Health, R. Damodharan, the move to issue notice comes in the wake of residents in the neighbourhood of a poultry unit in Poligoundenpalayam, near Pollachi, complaining of fly menace.
The poultries should act in accordance with Section 44 of the Act and obtain no-objection certificates from the Department.
And while applying for the certificates the poultries should have initiated measures that were in conformity with Section 3 of the Tamil Nadu Public Heath Act.
The poultry unit owners should ensure that the place was not the source for flies, breeding of mosquitoes, bed bugs and rodents, had safe, chlorinated drinking water with the water having residual chlorine at 0.5 ppm, did not have poultry waste or other waste for over 24 hours, had a hot lime wash in the last one year, the overhead tank was sealed air-tight, enjoyed a no-objection certificate from the Fire and Rescue Services Department, a building stability certificate from the authority concerned and, finally, had in place an anti-fly mechanism.
Dr. Damodharan said that following the complaint from the residents, the District Collector, M. Karunagaran, had ordered him to conduct an inspection.
The inspection revealed that the new worker who was in charge of taking anti-fly measures had not used a pesticide that was supposed to be used with alum and bleaching powder in the drainage. The drain water had mixed with the poultry waste, resulting in the growth of maggots and increase in fly menace.
If the poultries failed to comply with the provisions to obtain NOC, the Department would be constrained to initiate action involving closure of the poultry.
