The New Nation - Internet Edition

It now appears that the country is facing a wave of Avian Influenza (Bird Flu). The disease is a highly contagious one. It has by now contaminated poultry birds in about 40 districts of the country -from Dinajpur to Chittagong. Several hundreds of thousands of birds (Chicken) have died, huge number of birds already burned and many more under threat of contamination. In all, a near endemic situation is prevailing in the poultry sector.

It would be really hard for this emerging sector of the economy to bear and eventuality to make up the loss the sector has already suffered. The marginal farmers of rural areas are the worst affected.

On paper, the government seems to be responsive to the problem but at the ground level the response is much too inadequate.

The virus needs to be contained. And that should be the responsibilities of the administration. The farmers, particularly the marginal ones, need immediate rehabilitation which is needed to save this emerging multi-million dollar sector economy of the country.

Lapses or delays would be rather too costly for the economy if it is ruined forever.

Abu Musa Miah

Lalbagh, Dhaka