Pandemic leaves poultry sector in dire straits
The Hindu
Shortage of feed hits business hard
Reeling under COVID-19 restrictions and rock-bottom sales, the poultry sector in the State has now been severely affected by shortage of feed. Farm gate chicken price dropped to around ₹60 a kg on Saturday, while the farmer’s production cost is around ₹100, said S.K. Nazeer, general secretary, All Kerala Poultry Federation. Until the business normalises, tens of thousands of poultry farmers will see little or no income, he said, claiming that the sector provided jobs to around five lakh people. However, around 70% of them are out of work, as they are unable to sell the birds at remunerative prices, while the production cost is high mostly due to expensive feed and shortage of supplies.The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.