Nimbus distributes relief worth Rs 3.15m to poultry farmers

Nimbus - the producer of Shakti pallet -- on Tuesday distributed relief amount to a dozen poultry farmers, who faced huge loss after officials culled chickens in their farms following bird-flu outbreak. The company distributed relief worth Rs 3.15 million to farmers of Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Chitwan who have been using Shakti pellet feed for a minimum of six months. Speaking at a relief distribution program and announcement of additional fund for the relief fund, Chairman of Nimbus, Jagadish Agrawal, said they simply wanted to support the poultry industry which has been making significant contribution to national economy. With the Nimbus relief fund, the farmers have received full compensation for their poultry loss as the government has already paid half of the loss amount. Suresh Kumar Tamang, a farmer from Bhaktapur, said the relief prevented him from going bankrupt. He, however, expressed dissatisfaction over tax deduction of 25 percent from the relief amount. Nimbus had announced ´Nimbus Helping Hands´ - a relief fund worth Rs 7.5 million - in November last year as part of its corporate social responsibility. It has already distributed around Rs 3.5 million to the farmers. Meanwhile, Nimbus has added additional Rs 20 million to the fund. Ananda Bagaria, managing director of Nimbus, said the company contributed the amount by collecting 30 paisa from each kilogram of pellet feed sold by the company. “We contribute 15 paisa per kg and our dealers chip in with 15 paisa per kg,” said Bagaria. Total annual sales of Nimbus pellet feed stand at 70,000 tons.