‘Poultry State’ status for Sikkim

GANGTOK, November 8: Indications have come from the State Government that Sikkim is all set to be declared as ‘Poultry State’ even as the State is yet to lift the ban on poultry imports although the nation itself has declared free of ‘bird flu’.

The declarations of Sikkim as ‘Poultry State’ will enable the State to get financial assistance from the Centre for development of poultry industry and become not only self-reliant but an exporting State for poultry products.
This was pointed out by the State animal husbandry minister DN Takarpa while addressing a poultry farmers’ and other stakeholders meet at Ranipool last evening. He said that the State Government has submitted all the necessary documents to the Centre in this regard including the papers of the 29 acres of land under the department at Rinchenpong in West District.
Takarpa told that the Centre is very positive in declaring Sikkim as one of the two poultry States to come up in the country. He said that once Sikkim is declared a Poultry State, the department will be able to distribute 2000 chicks to each of 100 selected poultry farmers in the State that may lead to production of 4 lakh kgs of chicken meat in the 43 days period.
The minister said that the State Government is determined to make the State self-reliant by increasing the poultry productions. The capacity of the two government hatcheries at Kamling and Tokal-Bermiok is slated to be augmented upto 60 thousand chicks per week from around 15000 at present by adding more hatching machines there.
Tarkapa said that if the State becomes self reliant in poultry production, the poultry growers may easily get a readymade market of around Rs. 10 crore rupees per annum