Poultry farmers demand Umling quarantine post, warn of roadside vigil

The Meghalaya Poultry Farmers and Welfare Association has renewed its demand for a dedicated quarantine check post at Umling in Ri-Bhoi district to examine the health of poultry brought into the state, and has warned that its members could keep watch on the roadside themselves if nothing is done, Highland Post reported from Nongpoh on Tuesday.

Promises not kept, says association

Association representative Daminot Sylliang told reporters that the demand was an old one. The group, he said, had taken it to the Chief Minister and the minister concerned several times and had received repeated assurances that a check post would be set up, but it never happened.

According to Sylliang, the association had even told the government at its last meeting that it had leased a 1.5-acre plot at Umling for the proposed facility after years of waiting.

At a later meeting called by the Deputy Commissioner, however, the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department reportedly said that the plot that had been discussed was meant for a cattle shed and not for poultry quarantine. Sylliang said the farmers were deeply unhappy and that the matter could not be delayed any further.

Why farmers are worried

Umling lies in Ri-Bhoi district on the Guwahati-Shillong highway, the main road route into Meghalaya from Assam. Without a check post there, the association says, birds arriving from other states are not examined before they reach markets and farms.

Sylliang said diseases were increasingly entering the state with birds from outside. That, he said, was creating serious difficulties for local poultry farmers, who stand to lose their flocks if an infection spreads, and could also pose a health risk to consumers.

What the farmers want

The association wants the government to honour its earlier word and set up a proper facility where incoming poultry can be inspected and, if needed, held in quarantine. Its members have warned that if the state does not act, they may begin a vigil along the road themselves to check vehicles carrying birds into Meghalaya.

Quarantine and inspection points at state entry routes are commonly used to stop the spread of livestock diseases, and poultry farmers across the North East have been on alert in recent years after outbreaks of bird flu in parts of the region.

The government has not responded publicly to the association's latest statement.