By Express News Service
DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand forest department has deployed drones to keep an eye on migratory birds that flock to the hill state from different parts of the world, including China, Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and many other countries.
JS Suhag, chief wildlife warden, Uttarakhand, “The drones are helping us in keeping an eye on spots which are important congregation for birds, especially migratory birds. Alert has been issued already to check the spread in the state.”
The drone force is keeping a watch on these avian family members across hotspots in the state including Baigul Dam, Dora Dam, and Sharda Sagar dam in the Terai East forest division of the Western Circle of Uttarakhand.
The live locations of the birds are being monitored by the drone force and their movement is also being tracked.
The state government’s animal husbandry department has formed rapid response teams (RRTs) across the state to ensure stop the spread of bird flu in around 15000 big, medium and small poultry establishments of the state.
The officials told that the control room has been set up in Dehradun and through email, fax or toll-free number (18001208862) people can inform if they suspect any case of bird flu anywhere in the state.
The government has also kept medical centers of the state including atleast 80 in Dehradun on high alert in case of spread.
Earlier last week, the state government had banned interstate export of poultry products and specimen from all the states affected by bird flu.
Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has warned and has urged to be cautious.
The states from where the transaction of any kind of poultry products has been temporarily halted include Himachal, Rajasthan, Haryana and many others.
With news pouring in from various stages such as Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and others, officials in Uttarakhand took the decision to deal with an outbreak, if any.
Around 2700 migratory birds have been found dead in the Pong Dam Lake in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district. The samples of the dead birds, mostly bar-headed geese, have tested positive for bird flu.
