The operation "is likely to end by Tuesday evening," Agricuture Minister Sharad Pawar [ Images ] told reporters on the sidelines of a Bureau of Indian Standards award function in New Delhi [ Images ] on Tuesday.

The animal husbandry department started the culling operation on Monday, he added. He blamed certain sections of the media for blowing a localised event out of proportion, which according to him led to a panic-like situation.

"It is wrong to say that bird flu has erupted across the country, which in fact happened within a radius of 10 km in the western region," he said.

Bird Flu Strikes India