As authorities take measures to control the spread of bird flu, egg and poultry consumption has gone down drastically in the district where the outbreak of the virus has not been reported.

The traders said although there is no effect on the farm, their sales have dropped over the past few days. The scare has even prompted them to stop buying poultry from West Bengal, where no such cases have been reported yet.

However, because of the sudden price drop, few customers couldn’t stop themselves from buying poultry products. While speaking to media on Friday, Monu Kumar, a chicken trader of Hirapur Hatia in Dhanbad, said: “Yes, the footfall of customers has dropped, but we do not have any information about such cases in Jharkhand.”

“As a precautionary measure, we have stopped bringing consignments from Bengal,” said Kumar.

“We appeal to the people to stay away from rumours and enjoy having chicken and eggs which are being sold at cheaper rates,” said Kumar.

Nasim Ahmad, another retailer at Police Line in Dhanbad, said: “The poultry traders are passing through a difficult phase since more than a year. As first we were badly hit by the Covid crisis. But before we could recover from this difficult phase, the bird flu scare has affected the entire business.”

“We would like to assure the customers that we are taking all precautionary measures and have completely stopped bringing the consignments from other states,” said Ahmad.

Shekhar Sinha, an income tax consultant of Hirapur, said: “Safety of our family is most important for us. So we are taking all kinds of precautions and avoiding chicken and eggs.”

Dhanbad Civil Surgeon Dr Gopal Das said, “The state has not reported any bird flu cases till now. Neither we have received any information from the neighbouring states. However, we are fully prepared for any emergency. We would advise people to stay away from poultry products for a few days.”