Duck farmer gets Rs 5.2 Lakh, but still in penury

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.