GUWAHATI: A government piggery farm has been running without a single pig in it, despite the fact that availability of huge market potential.
Notably, such an unfortunate thing happens in Sivasagar, Assam since last year.
Due Last year, the African Swine flu swiped away all the pigs on the farm. Some died contracting the infection and others were culled by the authority to check further transmission of the deadly disease. Since then, the farm, situated in the Khelowa area, has been run by the authority without a pig.
The officer of the farm informed that the state Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Department is yet to allot pig calves to the farm.
Earlier, hundreds of pigs were reared on the farm. According to some pig rears, the annual potentiality of the Assam pig market is Rs. 365crore. Some of them alleged that a syndicate has been importing pigs from other states taking advantage of the unavailability of pig.
On the other hand, earlier, locals from the Mohanbari area in Dibrugarh discover pigs procured for meat consumption from neighboring states like Mizoram.
It is to be mentioned here that, at the time when the state witnesses horrifying rise of the unemployment problem, some dishonest people have been, allegedly, importing pigs to Assam from outside of the state, adversely impacting the business of the local pig farmers.
This has come to light after local pig farmers recovered some imported pigs at Mohanbari, Dibrugarh.
The importers supplied the pigs to some local meat vendors, who kept the pigs in a house in an utter unhygienic condition. Flies brood in the carcasses of the pigs.
The vendors killed the pigs in order to sell their meats. The local pig farmers allege that the pig importers brought the pigs violating a ruling of the Gauhati High Court, which banned the import of pigs from outside of the state.
They also alleged that the importers managed the police and veterinary department officials to covertly import pigs. The illegal imports have affected the business of the local pig farmers.
It can be noted that the pig farmers of the state suffered a huge loss due to the onslaught of the African Swine Flu last year.
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