It is regrettable that media puts the negative news on the front page and the positives are reported in smaller fonts in pages 3 4 & 5.
Almost everyone who knows a thing or two about bird flu has confirmed that eating chicken under Indian cooking conditions, is safe. They have also advised to stay away from Tandoris for the time being which makes sense and also shows that they are not throwing caution to the wind.
Poultry provides livelihood to thousands of families in India - this kind of panick fuelled by the media will cause them extreme hardship. It can even stop tourists coming in and considering it is an industry of 35000+ crores will have an impact even on GDP if this continues for long.
Our plea to the media is to be responsible, report the truth but be clear and unambiguous - stand by the industry and the people earning their daily bread instead of writing in a speculative manner and leaving loose ends around encouraging people to draw their own conclusions.
