Feb. 3: Police will accompany animal resource development officials during the weeklong mop-up operations and search houses for hidden poultry if necessary.

“Police teams will accompany officials during the mop-up, which will continue for seven days,” animal resource principal secretary Dilip Chakraborty said at Writers’ Buildings this afternoon.

Inspector-general, law and order, Raj Kanojia said he had already asked the police chiefs of the bird flu-hit districts to help animal resource officials locate ducks and chickens that had not been handed over to the rapid response teams during culling operations.

“The policemen will search out chickens and ducks if they are asked to do so by the animal resource officials. They will not act on their own,” he added.

The mop-up job began today, without police help at most places.

Animal resource officials were hopeful that their campaign against holding back poultry birds in the flu pockets would bear fruit.

“A door-to-door campaign has shown tremendous impact. Many villagers who had earlier hidden their chickens have changed their minds. We are giving them compensation (for culled birds) if they are cooperating with our officials and handing over their chickens and ducks before the mop-up,” animal resource minister Anisur Rahman said.

The minister said the police would intervene when the villagers refuse to part with their chickens even after persuasion.

“It will be a last resort. Our officials will tell people to hand over their chickens before asking the police to conduct a search inside houses.”

The minister knows police action might leave the villagers, going to panchayat polls this summer, angry.

The CPM was singed in many areas of rural Bengal last year for corruption among ration dealers and their alleged hobnobbing with the party.

A CPM leader in Birbhum said: “We are opposed to policemen searching for chickens in village houses.”

Animal resource department teams today went door to door in four village panchayat areas of Rampurhat in Birbhum, about 270km from Calcutta, requesting villagers to give away the poultry birds they may have kept back earlier.

“Several villagers today handed over their chickens. No police help was not required today,” said Birbhum animal resource head Narayan Das Bhowmik.

Secretary Chakraborty said 32 lakh chickens had been culled till Saturday.