Poultry ban lifted as samples test negative
NEW DELHI: Authorities on Thursday lifted a ban on storage, packaging and sale of chicken in the national capital and allowed the reopening of the Ghazipur wholesale poultry market, while withdrawing all temporary restrictions imposed in view of a bird flu outbreak shortly after the animal husbandry department confirmed that the virus that causes the disease was not found in samples of poultry birds in the city.
The move means restaurants and eateries can serve items containing chicken or eggs to their customers, bringing relief among retailers and owners of such establishments who expressed anguish after the ban on sale by three municipal corporations came into effect on Wednesday. It also means buyers will get chicken at their neighbourhood shops and at online marketplaces.
“Samples taken from poultry markets have tested negative with respect to bird flu. Have directed to open the poultry market and withdraw the orders to restrict trade and import of chicken stocks,” Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said in a tweet in the afternoon. So far, ducks at a park in east Delhi and crows have tested positive in the city.
In his tweet, Kejriwal was
referring to the 100 samples taken from birds in the Ghazipur wholesale poultry market — the only authorised one in the city — before it was closed down on Saturday for 10 days as a precautionary measure aimed at stopping the spread of the disease, also known as avian influenza. On that day, Kejriwal also banned the import of live birds from outside Delhi to the city.
And on Monday, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government banned the sale of processed and packaged poultry brought from outside the city, allowing retailers to sell their existing stocks only if they procured them before the outbreak or from places that have not reported bird flu cases.
The direction by the CM means all these restrictions would be lifted, said an official in his office, requesting anonymity.
On Thursday evening, Giriraj Singh, the Union minister of animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries, held an online meeting with Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the animal husbandry portfolio, and mayors and commissioners of north, south and east Delhi municipal corporations, who later withdrew their ban on storage, packaging and sale of poultry products.
“There was positive discussion. Three mayors were also there in the video conference... Hope the decision to lift the ban on Ghazipur mandi will send a positive message throughout the country. I urged them to take precautions and not to panic,” Singh told reporters.
The South Delhi Municipal Corporation said in a statement: “In pursuance of the Delhi Government’s order to allow poultry related trade in Delhi, the SDMC today withdrew its order to prohibit keeping live poultry birds, sale and purchase of poultry meat at shops and in restaurants and running processing and packaging units anywhere in the jurisdiction of the civic body from immediate effect.”
Delhi is among 10 states that have confirmed bird flu since the current outbreak began in December-end. The other states are Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat. No case among humans has been reported in the country.
Delhi’s daily demand for poultry is around 350,000 live birds, according to traders and officials in the animal husbandry department. Most of that comes from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, both impacted by the outbreak.
But those in poultry trade hoped the lifting of the restrictions would help bring business back on track amid widespread panic and a sharp decline in demand for chicken and eggs.
“Now that the ban is lifted, chicken should be available in the market. We would like to urge everyone to check the source of the chicken before buying it,” said Siddhant Wangdi, CEO at Meatigo.com, which is a prominent e-retailer for chicken, fish and meat.
Manpreet Singh, treasurer of the National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI), welcomed the move. “Imposing a blanket ban on sale and storage and serving of chicken even at restaurants was a complete knee-jerk reaction... All restaurants serve chicken which is cooked above 70 degrees Celsius so there is no chance of surviving any virus at that high temperature,” Singh said.
Iqbal Qureshi, a poultry trader and the vice-chairperson of Ghazipur wholesale poultry market, said: “Such restrictions were a major blow to the industry, which had hardly recovered after the pandemic. We still cooperated with all agencies. Deputy CM Manish Sisodia had assured us that the ban will be lifted if poultry birds were found uninfected in Delhi. We appreciate that the Delhi government kept its promise and the other agencies followed suit.”
According to the World Health Organization, only those coming in close contact with infected (alive or dead) birds for a long time can contract the H5N1 (strain of) bird flu virus, which does not usually spread from person to person. Most other strains of bird flu cannot be transmitted to humans. Experts say well-cooked chicken or poultry products such as eggs (heated over 70° Celsius) kill the virus and are, therefore, safe to consume.
So far, a total of 158 samples belonging to different birds — crows, pigeons, ducks and chickens — have been sent to labs in Bhopal and Jalandhar for tests. Eight samples from three locations (Sanjay Lake Park in Mayur Vihar Phase 2, Dwarka Sector 9, and Mayur Vihar Phase 3) have tested positive, while the results of 50 samples are awaited, according to officials.