Bhubaneswar, May 17: More than 5,000 chickens perished within just three hours at a poultry farm in Malkangiri district, Odisha, following a sudden power failure amid extreme heat.
Local sources reported that the outage caused the farm’s cooling systems to shut down, triggering severe heat stress among the birds. The facility relied entirely on electricity to operate fans and ventilation inside the enclosed sheds, which became unbearably hot when the power supply was interrupted. Officials said a transformer failure cut electricity to the farm, creating what was described as a "heat chamber" inside the sheds.
The total weight of the dead chickens was estimated at 12 to 12.5 tonnes, with the farm owner estimating the financial loss at around ₹15 lakh. Attempts to save the birds using a diesel generator failed due to a shortage of fuel. The owner claimed that local fuel stations were unable or unwilling to supply diesel during the emergency, preventing the generator from operating.
By the time electricity and cooling systems were restored, the damage was done, leaving over 5,300 birds dead.
“The extreme heat in Malkangiri makes an uninterrupted power supply critical for poultry farms,” the owner explained. “Even to run the generator for one hour, nearly seven litres of diesel are needed. Because of the diesel shortage, I suffered this massive loss.”
Authorities have not yet released an official statement regarding compensation or the allegations of diesel unavailability.
