Mumbai: The disaster control and management cell of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has received 844 complaint calls related to Avian Influenza or bird flu between January 5 and January 15 (7 am). After two positive bird flu cases were reported on Monday, BMC asked Mumbaikars to inform the civic body's disaster cell '1916' if they see any unusual bird death in their locality.
Senior officials of the disaster management cell informed they have been receiving calls from all the 24 municipal wards and in the past week, the rate of calls has increased significantly.
“We have received more than 800 calls so far and most of them are either repeated callers or different callers from the same location,” Rashmee Lokhande, chief officer BMC disaster management cell, told FPJ.
Lokhande added that owing to the flu outbreak, Mumbaikars have become overly cautious and in the past week. She informed that the frequency of the complaint calls regarding the bird flu has also increased and between Thursday and Friday, the cell has received 266 calls.
“After recording the details we pass on the information to the local ward office of the complainant, following which officials collect the carcass and send them to the laboratories” Lokhande stated.
Civic officials further informed that to-date 11 birds have died in Mumbai, most of them are crows and no poultry birds have died so far.
“In Mumbai, till date, not a single poultry bird has died due to flu, most of the birds found dead in Mumbai and its adjoining districts are either crows or herons,” an official from the Solid Waste Management Department (SWM) told FPJ. The SWM department has been assigned the task of collecting carcasses.
The civic body has also deployed rapid response teams to carry out the burial of the birds in order to control the spread of the flu.
Officials informed that the marshals and garbage collectors have also been kept on high alert keeping in mind the flu outbreak.
“Two birds in Chembur had died due to flu this week, we have instructed the marshals to keep a watch on the poultry shops as well,” the official added.
