Pig farming upsets villagers

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, June 18

Residents of Birring village, situated near Jalandhar Cantt, are upset following the coming up of a pig farm in an open field that falls in the village, with Delhi Public School (DPS) also lying closeby.

Near the farm Railway Colony is also located and adjoining roads lead to Dakhoa, Tanuwali and other villages. The area is listed under ward No. 12 of the Municipal Corporation (MC). Despite several pleas made by people of the village to the ward councillor in this regard, no action has been taken yet.

“Pig faeces and waste often spreads in neighborhood, polluting air and water with toxic waste particles. Waste from these farms have the potential to carry pathogens and bacteria, often antibiotic resistant, that can be dangerous when ingested,” said a resident of Birring village.

Another resident of the village said, “Pig waste usually contributes to groundwater pollution. The waste products result in irritation, respiratory ailments, increased stress, decreased quality of life and high blood pressure.” Our area falls under the MC that has a population of around 10,000. Such activities and farming should be held at a distance from residential areas, as these give trouble to the local people, he added.

Ward No. 12 councillor Gurmej Kaur said she had received complaints from people of the area and the application to remove the piggery house had been sent to the Police Commissioner. Even we do not want to see the pig house situated in the residential area. This place belongs to the martyrs who sacrificed their life for us. Any illegal happening in the area is condemnable, also the public schools that falls in the same area, making students prone to diseases. So we are trying to take the necessary action soon.

On asking residents if they had tried to contact the owner of the piggery house to shift the farm outside the village, they said that they did not know who the owner was and had just seen the caretaker staff, seen supervising various farm activities. We conveyed our message to the staff many times, but did not get any feedback.”