Import of poultry products into the entire Dhaulagiri Zone has been banned, following the detection of bird flu in the neighbouring district Kaski.

The import of poultry products has been totally stopped since Tuesday from Parbat, the entry point to the Dhaulagiri, the District Livestock Office, Parbat said.

According to the Office Chief Dr Sudhir Thapa, poultry products and feed are brought to the district and zone almost daily via the Pokhara-Baglung road section and the import was completely banned since Tuesday taking into account the risk of bird flu virus which was already found in Kaski, he said.

Until Monday, poultries approved by veterinary doctors for supply were allowed into the district. Some 2,000-2,500 birds used to be imported into Dhaulagiri daily before. With the ban of supply of fowls into the zone, the price of chicken has soared from Rs 360 per kg (one week ago) to Rs 440 these days. RSS