LAKKI MARWAT: Over 4,000 chicken have died of a ‘mysterious’ disease in Marmandi Azeem area near Naurang town over the last four days.

According to the reports, the disease hit two poultry farms killing nearly 4,500 broiler chickens.

Owner of poultry farms Sharifullah claimed he had suffered a loss of over Rs1 million due to the chicken’s deaths.

He said he’d engaged a private veterinary expert for diagnosing and containing the disease, but in vain.

“The broiler chickens were of 37 days and were ready for sale but they died of the mysterious disease,” he said. 

When contacted, veterinary official Dr Mubarak confirmed the deaths and said he’d visited the two poultry farms to ascertain the actual cause of the deaths on the directives of district director livestock Dr Naseemullah Wazir.

He said the mass chicken deaths had taken place in four days.

Mubarak said the farm owner didn’t report the disease to the livestock department and instead, he got the services of a private doctor, who failed to diagnose the disease accurately.

Meanwhile, coordinator of the influential Saifullahs, Ameer Mashal Khan, on Monday visited the poultry farms and sympathised with the owner over the loss.

He said he would request the deputy commissioner to take up the matter to the relevant provincial government authorities for compensation.

OPERATION LAUNCHED: The police and security forces on Monday launched a joint operation against miscreants in the villages bordering the frontier tribal region.

“The operation was launched on information about the presence of militants and kidnappers in the area,” said an official.

He said local police had credible information about the infiltration of miscreants and outlaws to the settled areas from tribal region.

The official said law-enforcement personnel besieged Walai, Shagai and Baragai villages and launched a comprehensive search to hunt the hardened criminals and militants. “During the operation, law enforcers raided several hideouts of miscreants and kidnappers, and held five people from there,” he said.

The official said two Kalashnikovs, three rifles, three pistols, telescopes and bullets were seized from the sanctuaries of kidnappers.

Meanwhile, the police also recovered three detonators from a forest near Dallokhel and defused them with the help of BDS experts.

Published in Dawn, September 30th, 2014