Led by the minister, the animal resources department on Thursday pulled out all stops to dispel avian flu fears. But across town, the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) health workers complained of government apathy in monitoring the situation on the ground.

At the inauguration of a new Surabhi outlet on the Indian Veterinary Research Institute campus, in Belgachhia, animal resources development Anisur Rahaman sold chicken over the counter and munched on chicken lollypops, exhorting others to do the same.

?So far, there is no cause for alarm. However, I can?t predict what will happen in the future. In the meantime, it is completely safe to eat chicken,? he asserted. Guests at the event were served chicken lollypop and pakora.

In the morning, the minister had visited the Park Circus market to buy chicken. ?I had chicken curry for lunch,? he told reporters.

During the day, the health inspectors of CMC visited Jadu Babur Bazar, Lake Market, New Market and Gariahat Market to ?observe? the poultry being sold here.

?Our inspectors can only observe the birds being sold. They are not authorised to collect samples. Also, we can?t do anything about the way poultry are being handled in the markets. The government has not got in touch with us. We?re doing all this on our own,? complained a health department official.

The civic body is yet to procure the posters and banners intended to dispel fears of a flu outbreak in the city. Municipal commissioner Alapan Bandyopadhyay had promised to put them up at the earliest.