Poultry farm building lying in disuse

A building along with fields which were once used for breeding hens has been in disuse for the past several decades.

A building along with fields which were once used for breeding hens has been in disuse for the past several decades.

The farm, with a sprawling area of about 10 acres, accounted for a variety of infrastructure at Tiruvarangulam village on the Pudukottai – Alangudi highway. It was inaugurated in December 1961 but over the years, the poultry farm lost its lustre leading to its closure altogether.

As the building remains closed, it has given room for anti-social activities.

Mounting wastes

A large volume of empty bottles and plastic wastes all around the building testifies to the presence of anti-social elements.

The Animal Husbandry Department had constructed a dispensary recently beside the old building.

According to official sources, Tiruvarangulam and neighbouring areas were popular for rearing hens in the early sixties and up to late seventies.

But, with the advent of the Namakkal broiler chickens in the late nineties, the trade had been witnessing a revolution in terms of economic growth and profitability in the private sector, resulting in poor returns for the members of the Government poultry farms not only in Pudukottai but across the State.

Similar buildings have been remaining closed at various places including Coimbatore in the State.

The impact of the private sector in poultry rearing was such that even the State government started setting up state-of-the-art laboratories and other infrastructure in Namakkal district or in Namakkal town, the source told The Hindu on Friday.

The official said that steps would be taken for the utilisation of the building for any other purpose.