Chicken has gone off the menu at many Siliguri homes with the Darjeeling district administration confirming bird flu in a village located just over 20km from the town. Culling operation in Poinikumari, the affected village, and areas within a 5km-radius started yesterday. "The team from the animal resource development department had culled 3,973 poultry birds yesterday. Another 7,000 are expected to be culled by 11pm today,' said Rajesh Pandey, the district magistrate of Darjeeling. Twelve fowls also died at Pulbazar, 30km from Darjeeling town. Pandey said samples would be sent to test the presence of the H5N1 virus. The ban on the sale of chicken within the 5km radius of Poinikumari came into force yesterday after a meeting between the district administration and the North Bengal Poultry Association. The association comprises 150 members who sell 60-70 tonnes chicken every day. "The sale dropped to 10 per cent in the last 24 hours. Even though it was a Sunday, there were not many buyers,' said Ratan Pal, the vice-president of the association, adding that the flu scare has affected sales in Siliguri too. Manik Bhowmik of Pradhannagar here said he has stopped buying chicken. "Although I live more than 20km from the affected area, I didn't want to take a risk,' he said. Sikkim has banned the import of chicken from Darjeeling district after the presence of the flu virus was confirmed, said the poultry association.