ALAPPUZHA: The duck farmers of Alappuzha are facing huge financial liabilities following the bird flu outbreak and the inadequate compensation given by the government for the ducks being culled.
A duck farmer K.T. Kuttappan received a compensation of Rs 5.20 lakh but he had taken a loan of Rs 8 lakh from the SBT Edathwa branch which, he says, he will not be able to repay.
“I have lost all my 25,640 ducks. While 10,000 perished in Ponge Padam in the first week of November, the rest are being culled.
The government is mum about 15,000 matured ducks which perished due to the disease,” he lamented while officials culled the ducks at Swamichira in Alappuzha municipality.
Some 398 registered largescale duck farmers are also in the same plight. C.O. Thomas from Chennithala said the compensation was inadequate. He has been granted Rs 3.49 lakh for the loss of about 15,000 ducks. “I did not even get the price which I paid for buying feeds for these birds. I am bankrupt,” he rued.
The Kerala Duck Farmers Society has made a strong pitch over the issue. B. Rajasekharan, state president of the society, said the farmers were in a crisis. “The society has raised a host of demands and if they are neglected, we will agitate,” he said.
The society has also demanded an efficient mechanism for documenting the number of ducks culled and the exact losses suffered by each farmer. “The compensation promised must also be disbursed without delay to enable the farmers to revive their businesses,” he said.
