Deer Park is shut amid bird flu fears
NEW DELHI: A sprawling park popular for family outings was shut down on Thursday after more avian deaths were reported from across Delhi even as the government said it was in control of the situation amid a bird flu scare in the national capital.
Carcasses of birds were found close to a water body at a park in Hauz Khas, at Sunder Nagar and Tughlaqabad in the city’s deep south besides three more at the zoo, which officials described as the ground zero of the bird flu outbreak. The zoo was closed on Tuesday.
“We are trying our level best to control the situation and won’t let it go (to) bad… We are taking all precautionary measures. For now, citizens don’t need to worry,” Delhi’s development minister Gopal Rai said.
Officials said the closure was ordered for the part of the park that contains the lake, and is called District Park, but for Delhi residents the entire park is Deer Park. The water body attracts a large number of migratory birds, the primary carriers of the H5N1 virus.
Gajender Singh, director, horticulture of Delhi Development Authority (DDA), said the District Park spread over 90 acres has been closed for three days.
The first bird flu cases in the city-state were confirmed this week after samples from dead birds at the zoo tested positive.
Rai said results of 50 more samples — carcass, saliva, droppings and blood samples — sent to a laboratory in Jalandhar are expected on Saturday. “…Only then it can be ascertained if the virus has entered the food chain or not,” he said.
There are no known cases of human deaths due to avian influenza in India though several states have tackled outbreaks over the years. Rai said he would write to neighbouring states urging them to take necessary steps to tackle the outbreak.
The Delhi government also set up a 23-member committee, headed by development commissioner Sandeep Kumar, to coordinate between different departments and probe the bird deaths. On Wednesday, six rapid response teams were formed to visit the bird sanctuaries and poultry markets. On Thursday, Rai increased their number to 10.
“The government is fully prepared to deal with the disease. Health department has sufficient stock of Tamiflu tablet to deal with any emergency,” the minister said.
The government also cancelled leaves of all officials of the animal husbandry department and appealed to residents not to touch dead birds.
Rai said the city’s chicken wholesale markets and poultry farms have been asked to alert authorities if they find dead birds, and also keep their area clean.