Head in the sand

West Bengal government’s ineptitude has let bird flu soar

If looking away ever solved a problem, the West Bengal government would totally be on top of things. But as things stand, the bird flu situation in Bengal is spinning out of control. It is incredible how the state government has dithered, underestimated and mismanaged the crisis. Of the over 2.1 million poultry earmarked for culling in the nine districts affected so far, only 4,30,000 had been slaughtered nine days after the outbreak was declared.

Infected areas had not been properly sealed, so the disease seeped into neighbouring regions, which called for more haphazard culling — in effect, the poultry industry has lost a fifth of its net worth.

The Left’s awesome network of cadres, so effective in quelling popular unrest in Nandigram, seems to have flopped down and surrendered in the face of a disease that looms over both the lives and livelihoods of the poor. In many places, CPM workers actively hindered the culling, as they ostensibly ‘defended’ the villagers’ livelihoods. Earlier, the state had been tightfisted in even compensating farmers for their loss. Even now, the compensation being offered is grossly inadequate. The state government claims that it is strapped for resources. But it did not even bother to inform the Centre in time to avert this drastic situation — confirmed by the WHO to be the worst bird flu outbreak in India. It took a whole week for the West Bengal government to deem the matter important enough to convey to the Centre.

Even after laboratories confirmed the lethal H5N1 strain, different state departments did not manage to coordinate their routine, or give clear directions to health officials and culling teams. Now, the authorities lamely admit to ‘falling behind in the battle’ against bird flu. It is not just a matter of being helplessly swamped by a deadly disease. The incompetence of the West Bengal government is very much to blame for the current proportions of this public health disaster.