Orissa not to lift ban on poultry import

Orissa government on Tuesday refused to lift a ban on import of poultry birds from neighbouring West Bengal and Jharkhand, official sources said.

"Orissa has remained free from Bird flu virus even as its neighbouring state is affected by the disease. Therefore, we will continue to put restriction on the import of chickens from Bengal and Jharkhand," Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Secretary H K Panda said.

Orissa incidentally become the first state in the country to express its reluctance to go for culling of poultry birds and also lift ban on import of chickens from other states.

Earlier the Centre had asked Orissa to end restriction on import of poultry birds from West Bengal where all the diseased chickens were reportedly culled for good.

"As there is no Bird flu virus in Bengal, there is no need to restrict import of chicken from the border state," a Central recommendation had said.