Pallavaram residents demand action to tackle pig menace in their area

With the animal being identified as intermediate host of the virus, the BBR Nagar’s Welfare Association on Tuesday petitioned the municipality to remove the pigs.

Talking to DT Next, B A Jayaprakash, president of the association, said, “You can find around 10 to 15 pigs in the canal nearby. We have been complaining time and again to the municipality to take appropriate action.”

Stating that pigs can be found roaming the streets in their locality, M C Balaraman, pointed out that a group of persons caught few animals over the weekend.

“They were cleaned and sold the next day at the market. There are a number of men employed to catch the pigs,” he said.

Balaraman added that he witnessed the torture meted out to the captured animals. “I have even installed a CCTV to capture the footage of the pigs being caught and cleaned,” he said.

He said that several pigs can be found on a ground near the Madras Institute of Technology (MIT). “This situation has prevailed for over 40 years now. There seems to be no permanent solution for this. The person involved in the meat business has some tie-up with higher officials,” Balaraman said. The residents said that police intervention had helped them solve the problem about a year ago. “However, those in the meat business seem to be extremely influential. They have come back to business. We are told that they get as much as Rs 300 per catch. And, since the ones catching the pigs indulge in rowdism, residents are scared to approach them,” he added.

Repeated calls to the Commissioner of Pallavaram municipality went unattended.