BIRATNAGAR, June 29: Quarantine office at Jogbani customs has destroyed around 5,000 heads of broiler chicken and chicks imported from India without government permission in the last two months.
The government has been closely monitoring the imports of poultry products from the southern neighbor following the outbreak of bird flu there last year.
Customs Revenue Patrol of Armed Police Force (APF) buried 50 broiler chicken ferried in on a cycle through Metarwa customs point of Biratnagar on Sunday alone. Satya Narayan Chaudhary, chief of the quarantine office, said cases of illegal imports of poultry products is on the rise for the last couple of weeks.
Deputy Superintendent of Police with APF´s Customs Revenue Patrol Arjun Sapkota said smuggling of poultry products using bicycles is on the rise in bordering districts. "We have strongly instructed our patrolling team to maintain special surveillance along the border to check illegal movement of poultry products," Sapkota said.
Quarantine officials said chicks are being illegally imported in Nepal in large number through customs check points. The office and APF personnel seized and destroyed 2,000 heads of chicks illegally imported from India in April alone.
Though there has been mounting challenge to check cross border movement of poultry goods, quarantine offices along the border are running short of required staffs. "We are facing difficulties in controlling the illegal movement of poultry goods with just three employees at our office," said Chaudhary.
Sapkota said the trend of importing dressed chicken from India is increasing after the government imposed ban on the movement of live chicken.
Prabhakar Pathak, director general of Department of Livestock Services, told myrepublica.com that quarantine offices and Armed Police Force are jointly conducting border patrolling to control illegal flow of poultry products to Nepal.
"We are seizing and destroying poultry products illegally imported from India as we have been keeping vigil on imports as per the government decision," Pathak said.
As per the existing provision, traders have to acquire import permission from recommendations committee at District Livestock Services before importing poultry products from the country which have recurrent cases of bird flu.
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