No relief from pig menace

Charanjit Singh Teja 

Tribune News Service 

Amritsar, November 14 

Pigs, reared as a pet in the Islamabad area, have been troubling residents of the Inderpuri area. Despite several complaints by residents, the Municipal Corporation (MC) and the police have failed to remove pigs from the area. 

Residents complained that pigs roaming in large numbers in streets and vacant plots in the area were a nuisance. Apart from scattering garbage from dumps, swines sometimes attacked children, they added.

A local activist, Jaswant Singh, said, “Some people, who have pig farms, leave their animals in streets instead of providing them feed in enclosures.”

After receiving complaints from residents, officials of the health wing of the MC had met pig farmers in August, who had promised to shift pigs out of the city within 20 days. 

Jaswant, who has been pursuing against the swine menace, claimed that farmers did not pay heed to instructions of the municipal health officer and pigs still roamed streets of the area. 

He said, “There are more than 500 pigs, which create mess in the area. The MC should seize these animals and the police should register cases against their owners for creating a nuisance.” Dr Raju Chowan, municipal health officer, said, “We have filed a complaint with the Commissioner of Police. An inquiry has been marked to officials at the Cantonment police station. They have given warning to pig farmers but have not registered a case. We are pursuing the matter with the authorities concerned and will ask police officials to take strict action.”