Alappuzha: Even three months after the government has announced immediate disbursal of compensation, it is yet to reach the duck farmers who lost their birds as bird flu ravaged Kuttanad in November last. A compensation of Rs 200 per duck has been announced by the Animal Husbandry department. The department has submitted details of farmers along with a proposal worth Rs 10 crore to the government but the fund was yet to be released, said Dr. J. Felicita, deputy director, AHD. The compensation has been announced by Animal Husbandry minister K. Raju after he visited the affected farmers in November 2, 2016.
He had promised fund disbursal at the earliest. Meanwhile, the three-member committee comprising of N.N. Sasi, director, AHD , Georgekutty, MD, Livestock Welfare Department and Jose Thomas, Director, Diary Development Department, which was constituted to look into allegations of tampering bird flu compensation list failed to find out any foul play. According to the provisional data produced by Alappuzha district administration, Rapid Response Teams had culled 5,05,580 ducks even as more than 52,313 eggs and 9255 kg feed have been destroyed after the return of devastating bird flu has been confirmed in the district on October 25.
