Stray pigs create fear of disease outbreak in Tambaram suburb

With pigs wading through open drainage canals in the local and roaming the streets, the residents of the rapidly growing suburb fear any outbreak of communicable diseases. They claim that the number of pigs has increased manifold and are now posing a serious threat.

“The situation is really worse in the five cross streets of Selliamman Koil Street. This is all the more a concern as there is a school in our locality and over 400 houses,” said SS Mani, a resident of Elliamman Koil Street.

He added that the pigs have become a nightmare for the residents as they roam the streets freely and transport garbage from one neighbourhood to another. “The open drains are the biggest concern as the pigs are constantly searching the drains for food which eventually lands on the street,” says Mani.

“We filed a complaint with the municipality many times to get rid of the pigs but they didn’t take any action in this. We are afraid that out kids would get affected with deadly diseases,” Maini said.

When contacted, the Tambaram municipality Sanitary Officer M Mohideen said, “We have taken the issue to the district collector, now he is busy in the election duty. Soon he will take steps to capture the stray pigs.” He also said that the drainage which are damaged would be repaired soon by the municipality.