Coronavirus hits Pune's poultry industry hard, farmers left high and dry

Pune (Maharashtra) [India], Mar 16 (ANI): The poultry industry of Pune has been badly affected by the coronavirus.
Poultry owners are being forced to sell chickens at a throwaway price, as the demand has sunk like anything with people fearing of contracting the infection.
Farmers have reported that the price of a single chicken, which is used to be nearly Rs 140-150, is now being sold for Rs 15-20 each.
According to aggrieved farmers, the process of raising a baby chicken to its mature stage alone costs them around Rs 130. In this situation, selling them at such low prices is causing heavy losses.
Speaking to ANI, Mahadev Dorage, a farmer, said: "Earlier, my farm was earning at least Rs 13-14 lakh, but now I am earning a mere Rs 1-2 lakh because people are not willing to buy chickens."
Another farmer, Rajendra Thorat, who owns multiple poultry farms, stated that around 700 farmers were linked to his business. "In the current scenario, the business is incurring heavy losses," he said.
A total of 114 coronavirus cases have been reported in India so far. 39 cases have been reported from Maharashtra.
Two people, one each from Karnataka and Delhi have so far died of the infection in the country.
The virus had first emerged in China's Wuhan city in December last year. (ANI)