the goan I network
MARGAO
The association headed by newly-elected president J K Naik will take up the District Collector’s ban on the import of chicken from Karnataka in view of bird flu reported in the state in March. The association will also take up with the Goa government the one per cent cess on poultry products.
At a meeting held in a city hotel here on Monday evening, the traders, around 40 in number, stated that bird flu was detected in Karnataka in a district in March and the diseases has been effectively controlled and cleared in that state. They demanded to know the rationale of the Collector’s ban on import of poultry products from Karnataka in July when the threat of bird flu no more exists in that state. Association treasurer Sameer Kuncolienkar said that poultry traders have already requested the government to lift the ban and have also submitted a sanitary certificate in support of their demand. “The Collector’s decision has created a scare among consumers, which has hit us hard. The ban has adversely affected our business with sales hitting low because of the scare. We will again request the government to lift the ban on import of chicken from Karnataka,” Sameer said.
He pointed out that being a poultry farmer, his business has been hit hard for the simple reason that his poultry is located just across the Goa border at Ram Nagar. “We have set up our poultries in Ram Nagar for many reasons, including the state’s humidity factor. This ban has affected me because I cannot get my products from Ram Nagar into the Goan market,” he rued.
