Coronavirus Scare: Must allay fears of poultry industry, says Vice President

New Delhi: A delegation led by Bahadur Ali, Chairman, All India Poultry Breeders Association called on the Vice President of India, Mr M Venkaiah Naidu and apprised him of the problems faced by the poultry sector in the wake of the widespread fears about the impact of novel Coronavirus on the poultry industry.

They informed Mr Naidu, who is also the Rajya Sabha Chairman that false news about the threat to the poultry industry was creating panic among the people and resulted in a massive reduction in the consumption of poultry products. They also stated that the poultry sector was passing through financial stress and wanted re-scheduling of loans.

Quoting American biologist, Dr Bruce Lipton, the Vice President said that the “fear of Coronavirus was more deadly than the virus itself.” He asserted that all forms of rumor-mongering must stop and efforts must be made to restore the industry to normalcy.

The Vice President also spoke to the Director-General of Indian Council of Medical Research, Prof. Balram Bhargava, and advised ICMR to issue an advisory to allay the fears of the people on the consumption of chicken and eggs. He said that the dissemination of correct information was necessary to assure both consumers and sellers.

Stating that millions of farmers are dependent on the poultry sector especially in rural India, Vice President said that the sector has a key role in creating secondary income for farmers, apart from providing nutritional security to people.

Mr Naidu asked the Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Mr Anurag Thakur, who was present at the meeting, to look into the matter. Mr Thakur assured the delegation that the government would examine the matter and do the needful.

The Vice President asked all stakeholders to make collective efforts in providing the right information to people.

Mr Ranjith Reddy, Member of Parliament and President, Telangana Poultry Breeders Association and Mr Suresh Chitturi, Vice President of All India Poultry Breeders Association (AIPBA) were also present.