The reported outbreak of avian influenza among turkeys in the State-run poultry unit in Hesaraghatta, which is now suspected to have spread to chicken and ducks, does not appear to have deterred people from purchasing chicken or other poultry products from the market.
‘Not worried’
Most of the private traders The Hindu spoke to near J.P. Nagar 1st phase, Banashankari, and Russell Market said that they were not worried as they procured from private poultry farms, and no issues had been reported elsewhere.
Some chicken sellers said that there had been a decrease in the sales over the weekend, and some over the week. However, they attributed it to the festival season rather than panic or fear due to the reported outbreak. The cases of chicken and duck deaths were only announced by the government officially on Sunday night.
Gopal Swamy B.V, proprietor of Classic Chicken Centre at J.P. Nagar 1st Phase, said that the demand for chicken had not been impacted. He said that he procured it from a private poultry, and that supply of shops like his had not been impacted. In fact, he said that the price of a kg of chicken had gone up by Rs. 2. “People are not at all worried,” he said.
Dip due to festival
S.A. Rasheed of Punjab Dressed Chicken near Russell Market said the demand for chicken had gone down in the past three days which he attributed to Bakrid. He said that the prices had gone down because there is generally little demand during festivals like Dasara. Another shop owner near Russell market said that he had seen 50 per cent dip in demand, but he too attributed it to the festival season.
Costumers confident
Venugopal B., a customer, said that though he had been reading about the outbreak of the disease, he did not think there was cause to worry as these cases were restricted only to Hesaraghatta. He appeared to be more concerned about the price fluctuations of chicken and meat.
Mani N., another customer, said that he did not sense any panic. He pointed out that none of the shops here were procuring from the government poultry.
