Avian Flu Scare in North India: Chandigarh Meat Sellers Serve Free Eggs and Fried Chicken

The market in Sector 21, Chandigarh was witness to a different kind of �langar' on Wednesday.

Meat sellers in the area were seen serving boiled eggs and fried chicken to hundreds of people, who were jostling to grab as much as they could.

The residents have reportedly started avoiding poultry, especially chicken, amid reports of Avian flu scare in Chandigarh and the discovery of dead ducks and geese at the city's famous Sukhna Lake.

"The scare of bird flu has affected sale of chicken and egg by more than 20 percent. Winter is a season when we sell most poultry," said Atul Sonkar, president of Chandigarh Meat Market Welfare Association.

He said the reason why they served chicken and eggs was to create awareness about poultry and bust myths associated with poultry. However, considering the current situation, their wishes will take some time to be fulfilled.

"There are other meat options in the market. We are avoiding chicken and eggs. We have decided to avoid poultry products till the virus scare is dead," G.S. Dhillon, a Sector 9 resident, said.

Ramsaran, a rickshaw puller, said, "All the chicken is not infected. Nothing happened to us. I even took some chicken and eggs for my friends. We really enjoyed it."

A member of the meat market association said as many as 10,000 eggs and nearly 300 kg chicken was served free among the people to create "awareness that all chicken in the market and eggs are not infected" with avian influenza virus.



Source: Medindia