Dailekh : As high as 4,000 chickens died of Newcastle Disease (Ranikhet Disease) in wards no. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 of Naumule Rural Municipality in Dailekh district.

The disease was confirmed after a sample test conducted in a veterinary laboratory in Surkhet. The death of chickens in a large number in the village has worried farmers here, according to Khagendra Neupane, a livestock official in the rural municipality office.

He said that such a problem was uncovered after Jwala Bheri Karnali Panchakoshi Agro Forestry Pvt. Ltd, a private business firm, sold the chickens to the villagers without consulting with the rural municipality officials. Currently, other livestock are also dying besides chicken.

Acting Chief of district Livestock Office Dailekh Bhim Bahadur Bista said that the disease in the chicken in the district was spread after the diseased chickens were distributed to the villagers.