Taking stock of the measures taken to contain the avian influenza in the district, Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam appealed to poultry owners and workers to be guarded and cooperate with the officials here on Wednesday.
The district has 89 registered poultry farms and the owners have been told to monitor the chickens closely and report to the officials in the event of any death.
The officials briefed the Deputy CM about the steps being taken at the checkposts on Kerala border. A team of multi-department officials were monitoring the movement of vehicles, especially goods transporting perishable commodities. Adding to the list was the transportation of chicken and other feeds.
They said that only after proper screening, the goods from Kerala were being let into Theni. The poultry owners have also been told to sensitize their workers handling the chicken on their premises.
A close watch was also being kept on the aquatic birds in coordination with the forest department officials, the officials said.
Everyday, a little over 15,000 people travel to Kerala from various parts of Theni district for work in the estates there.
On the one hand, there was a need to relax the curfew guidelines, and on the other hand, the officials had higher responsibility to ensure that the disease was contained and did not spread, which alone would help rebuild the economy, Mr. Panneerselvam said.
District Collector M. Pallavi Baldev, Superintendent of Police Sai Charan Tejaswi, officials from the Animal Husbandry and Health department attended the meeting.
