Bird u con rmed at two places in Alappuzha

After a lull, bird ¤u outbreak has been con‘rmed in Alappuzha.

District animal husbandry o—cer Sajeev Kumar K.R. Said here on Wednesday that the presence of the H5N1 subtype of the In¤uenza A virus has been reported in ducks at Edathua and Cheruthana in the Kuttanad region.

Mr. Kumar said that avian ¤u had a§ected the birds of three farmers — one at Edathua grama panchayat (Ward 1) and two at Cheruthana panchayat (Ward 3). Culling of 21,000 birds, mostly ducks, within the 1-km radius of the hotspots would begin once the Union government issues the noti‘cation.

Political parties held their last rallies in 102 Lok Sabha constituencies on Wednesday as campaigning came to an end for the ‘rst phase of the general election. Polls will be held in these seats, scattered across 21 States and Union Territories, on Friday.

While the BJP based its campaign on the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Opposition

INDIA bloc targeted the ruling party over issues such as unemployment, farmers’ distress, and price rise. Mr. Modi, crisscrossed the country holding roadshows, and the BJP’s manifesto revolved around his “guarantees”.

In the 2019 elections, the Congress-led UPA had an edge in these 102 seats, winning 45 as against 41 seats for the BJP-led NDA.

EMMANUAL YOGINI Urgent reminder: Students paint posters in Mumbai on Wednesday urging people to vote. A row over the misuse of cyberspace for denigrating candidates appeared to monopolise the Lok Sabha campaign narrative in Kerala on Wednesday.