Tangail Correspondent:

A poultry farmer in Basail upazila of Tangail district has alleged that around 17,000 chickens died after being administered medicines prescribed by veterinary doctors linked to a pharmaceutical company.

Farmer Alamgir Hossain has filed a written complaint with Basail Police Station, claiming he incurred losses of nearly Tk40 lakh in the incident.

The incident occurred at his farm in the Habla Bilpara area of the upazila.

According to the complaint, Alamgir raised 55,000 broiler chickens around two months ago ahead of Eid. On February 14, he sought advice regarding the slow growth of the chickens. Dr Advait Barman, in charge of Renata Pharma Limited (Basail-Sakhipur), allegedly arranged for a prescription through Dr Mehedi. Subsequently, four types of antibiotic medicines were supplied to the farm through a voucher from Renata Pharma Limited.

The medicines were administered to 17,000 chickens at around 9pm on February 17. By 4am, approximately 12,000 chickens had died, the farmer claimed. As of Monday, the total number of dead chickens had risen to 17,000.

Alamgir alleged that after being informed of the deaths, the concerned doctor and the company’s salesman did not visit the farm.

“They gave me four antibiotic medicines instead of growth medicine. After administering them at night, the chickens began dying towards the end of the night. About 12,000 died on the first day. So far, 17,000 have died,” he said.

He added that he has been forced to sell farm equipment to pay workers’ salaries and demanded compensation from the company.

Employees at the farm said the chickens began dying within hours of being given the medicines. They expressed concern about receiving their wages before Eid and demanded punishment of those responsible.

Rabbi, a salesman of Renata, claimed the doctor did not visit the farm out of fear after hearing about the deaths.

Dr Mehedi of Opsonin Pharma Limited (Basail-Sakhipur), who prepared the prescription, said it was done on the advice of a senior doctor from Renata.

Dr Advait Barman denied responsibility, saying the prescription was made after assessing the disease. “We recommend different medicines for different diseases. The cause of poor growth must be identified first. The complaint has been filed to harass,” he said over the phone.

District Livestock Officer Helaluddin said action would be taken after an investigation. The exact cause of the deaths will be determined following post-mortem examinations.

Officer-in-Charge Alamgir Kabir of Basail Police Station said a written complaint has been received and a preliminary investigation confirmed that the chickens had died.