After the Disaster Management Cell of the BMC gave out a helpline number for reporting bird carcasses last week, it has been flooded with complaint calls given the ascending number of bird deaths in the city. As per reports, BMC has received nearly 1800 complaint calls since the first case of bird flu was reported in the city.

No chicken death witnessed so far

The cases reported so far include crows, pigeons and other birds but not chicken, clarified BMC. Reportedly, a BMC official mentioned that they have received repetitive calls reporting the same death, which has taken the count of calls over the actual number of deaths. While the state of Maharashtra has culled more than 6,000 birds, Mumbai has been kept out of the loop so far. To this end, the general manager of Deonar Abattoir, a slaughterhouse in Mumbai's eastern suburb stated that the culling of birds is not being implemented because no chicken death has been witnessed in the city, as of now.

Byculla zoo on high alert; no bird flu case reported

Housing over two hundred exotic and aquatic birds, the Byculla Zoo went on a high alert after Mumbai reported its first case of the avian flu. To block the entry of the virus, the zoo authorities are making sure that there is no interaction between the caged and the migratory birds. Owing to its meticulous preparedness, the zoo has not encountered a single case of bird flu.

Officials from the market department of the municipal corporation are keeping a regular check on the functioning of retailers and wholesalers in the poultry market, spreading awareness amongst them about bird flu. With the outbreak of avian influenza, the sales of poultry have crashed by an approximate of 5% -15% according to poultry sellers' association in Maharashtra. Consequently, the demand for seafood and meat has risen, leading to higher prices for the same.