The Congress will not commemorate the former chief minister's death anniversary at Shakti Sthal, due to the death of two birds there.
The bird flu crisis in the capital seems to have affected the top brass of the Congress. Earlier, the party's top leaders had chosen Shakti Sthal to commemorate the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31. However, the death of two birds at the venue on Tuesday has led to a change of plans.
"The venue for the commemoration event has been changed from Shakti Sthal to the office of Delhi Congress Pradesh Committee on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg near Minto Road," said Delhi Congress spokesperson Sharmistha Mukherjee on Friday.
She added, "The decision was taken to avoid any risk of bird flu."
Sources in the Congress say the party has decided to organise a special march to commemorate the death anniversary of Indira Gandhi. The march, which will be attended by all the Congress Working Committee (CWC) members and All India Congress Committee General Secretaries, will include Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi.
The march, which will start from Congress headquarters, will conclude at Safdarjung Road bungalow where Indira Gandhi was assassinated. The march is expected to start at 7.30 am, followed by a small function inside the Safdarjung Bungalow.
Shakti Sthal is the memorial site for Mrs Indira Gandhi, thereby prompting the party to have the commemoration there. It has been the venue for various Congress functions in the past. In fact, the party celebrates Martyrs' Day on October 31.
The Delhi Government had on Tuesday closed Shakti Sthal to the general public, keeping in mind the death of two birds in a suspected case of avian influenza. Top Delhi government officials say that the pond area has been cordoned off, as a precautionary move.
"We have sent the samples from these birds to establish the actual cause of death," said a government official.
The bird flu incident first came to light on October 14, and since then a total of 75 birds have been found dead across the capital. However, Delhi government officials say that so far only three cases have been attributed so far to the virus. They add that they have received no report of the other samples sent for bird flu testing.
The government had since then had shut down Delhi Zoo and Deer Park in Hauz Khas as a preventive measure after the death of many birds were found there.
Delhi development minister Gopal Rai had also issued an 11-point advisory to city residents, asking them to take full precaution when dealing with birds. The government has also asked the people to ensure that they do not consume raw meat or half-boiled eggs.
Rai had, however, also added that the lab reports received so far had indicated the presence of H5N8 among the birds, which is not harmful to humans.
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 "Shakti Sthal Indira Gandhi Samadhi closed due to Bird Flu.")
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