Bhubaneswar, May 17 -- More than 5,300 chickens reportedly died at a poultry farm in Odisha's Malkangiri district after diesel could not be arranged to operate a generator during a power outage, the farm owner alleged.

According to the information available, electricity supply to the farm was disrupted after the transformer at the facility developed a fault. The poultry farm owner claimed that diesel required to run the DG set could not be procured, resulting in the deaths of thousands of chickens due to extreme heat conditions.

The dead chickens are estimated to weigh around 12.5 tonnes, with the loss valued at nearly Rs 15 lakh.

Poultry farm owner Tutu Padhi alleged that fuel stations refused to provide diesel in barrels, which affec...