The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has intensified its drive to round up stray pigs in the backdrop of the outbreak of the Nipah virus in the neighbouring State of Kerala.
According to health officials, pigs can sometimes be the intermediary hosts of the virus. To date, the civic body has failed to crack down on the pig menace and on illegal breeders on the outskirts of Bengaluru despite complaints from citizens in H.S.R. Layout, Bommanahalli, Yelahanka and Mahadevapura.
In April, the civic body had floated a tender for catching stray pigs. “However, as the model code of conduct was in place, the BBMP could not take up the activity. After the poll results were declared, the pig catching activity was taken up,” said Sarfaraz Khan, Joint Commissioner (Health and Solid Waste Management). “After the Nipah outbreak in Kerala, the BBMP directed contractors, who have been awarded tenders, to intensify the drive against stray pigs in the city.”
“The tender had three bidders,” said G. Anand, BBMP's Joint Director (Animal Husbandry). As per the tender, the contractor pays Rs. 70/ kg for the pigs that have been caught. “It is up to the contractor on what they do with the pigs,” he said.
Shifting of slaughter houses
Mayor R. Sampath Raj said that the civic body had also received several petitions from citizens in S.K. Garden and Tavarekere to shift privately managed pig slaughter houses. “People have complained about protocol not being followed during disposal of blood and innards. They claim that they are being dumped haphazardly, which is posing a huge health risk,” he said.
The BBMP is now considering shifting these slaughterhouses to the outskirts of Bengaluru. “The proposal will have to be cleared by the Standing Committee for Health, and later the BBMP council,” said Mr. Sampath Raj.
