The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Avian influenza forces zoo to be shut till Feb 2
WITH PILGRIMS from all over the country arriving in Patna for the 350th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Gobind Singh, called “Prakash Utsav”, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is relieving all-round praise for the grand arrangements for the event.
Former Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh, who visited the venue on Tuesday, called the Bihar CM “original sardar” and added there could not be better and bigger arrangements than this. With three tent cities including one at Gandhi Maidan, Patna has looked like “mini Punjab” for past one week, he said.
The festival would culminate on Thursday with visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal at Gandhi Maidan where a replica of the Patna Saheb Gurdwara has been made. The state police has made elaborate security arrangements for PM visit at the venue that had seen serious security breach during October 2013 rally by Modi, who was then Gujarat CM. Bihar DGP PK Thakur said: “Besides usual watch towers and heavy deployment of forces, we also have teams of ATS, Patna. Traffic movement would be restricted due to PM’S visit.”
So far, several key politicians have visited the city. AAP leader and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, who also attended ‘Prakash Utsav’, praised Nitish for the grand arrangement and also met the Bihar CM.
Nitish, who has taken this event as an opportunity to boost his national image, said: “We want to ensure that people coming here from other parts of the country should leave Bihar with a good impression.”
A JD (U) leader added: “We cannot deny that it was yet another big opportunity for our CM to prove that Bihar can organise a function of this scale. ‘Prakash Utsav’ also showcases a great model of governance. Hosting about three lakh people at Patna is no mean task.”
Roads from Gandhi Maidan to Patna Sahib and other key roads have been kept clean with deployment of volunteers. Overhead wires have been either removed and have been neatly covered. Besides Gandhi Maidan, Patna Bypass Road and Kangan Ghat have a tent city each.
Speaking about the arrangements, Capt Amarinder said: “I do not think there could have been any better preparations and arrangement than this for a function of this scale in any other part of the country”. He also invited Nitish to campaign in Punjab. The JD (U) leader, however, has not responded to Singh’s invitation.
The Centre too had recently allocated funds for the festival. A senior BJP leader said: “All parties that have a stake in Punjab Assembly elections have come to Patna to encash on religious symbolism”. Bengaluru: The Mysuru Zoo will remain closed till February 2, after laboratory reports confirmed that the deaths of a few freeranging and migratory birds since December 28, 2016 had been caused by the avian influenza (H5N8) virus.
The deaths of a spot-billed pelican and three greylag goose in the zoo ponds were reported on December 28. Two days later, another spot-billed pelican and a greylag goose died in the same pond.
Samples of the dead birds has been sent to the Institute of Animal Health and Veterinary Biologicals, Bengaluru, for further investigations. On January 3, the zoo authorities were informed by the National Institute of High Security and Animal Diseases (NIHSAD), through the Commissioner for Department of Animal Husbandry, that the birds died due to avian influenza.
The executive director of Mysuru Zoo, K Kamala, held a meeting with officials on Tuesday and decided to adopt strict bio-security measures to prevent the spread of H5N8.
“We decided to close the zoo from January 4 to February 2 in the interest of public health and the animals,” Kamala said.
ENS
MYSURU ARUNACHAL PRADESH