Bird flu killed their flocks. 5 months on, Maharashtra poultry farmers await their dues

Bird flu has led to the culling of over 4.13 lakh layer birds, 24.91 lakh eggs, and 548.958 kg of poultry feed in Navapur taluka, Nandurbar district, Maharashtra. Despite the outbreak being reported on April 30, farmers are still awaiting their compensation, having been promised a third of their losses in September. The state has attempted to seek the remaining funds from the Centre at least thrice since the end of May, but the issue remains unresolved.

The first tranche of Rs 6.73 crore, half from the Centre and half from the state, was approved on September 1 and reached farmers' bank accounts by the end of September. However, the state is still waiting for its share, and the pending funds have led officials to cancel the culling of nearly 10,000 backyard birds in villages around the affected farms, as they demanded to be paid on the spot before handing over the birds.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Indian Express's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.