Zahid Javali, a resident of HSR Layout in south-east Bengaluru, said one of the biggest problems of the locality was the stray pig menace, which posed a grave health concern, especially for children.
His complaint reflects the angst of residents in the neighbourhood who have been fighting a losing battle against the menace.
Despite complaints, the civic body has not been able to put an end to the menace in the locality. But that could all change now.
After six years and three failed tenders, the BBMP successfully awarded a pan-city contract to catch stray pigs in the city for the next one year. Work is set to begin from February 1.
There’s a cautious optimism among residents in affected neighbourhoods. With no expertise in catching stray pigs and failed tenders, the civic body was as helpless as citizens.
During the six-year period with no strategy, the pig population is said to have multiplied manifold and it is estimated that the city now has nearly 5,000 stray pigs.
“Pigs usually attack men and bite back during its capture. Catching stray pigs needs special skill and a large team. As we had no such expertise, we were left to only chase these pigs out of the city every time residents complained,” said a senior BBMP official.
Munichandra, a third-generation pig farm owner from Malur, has been awarded the contract.
“Our family has been in the business in Malur for three generations and hence have a captive pig farm and a pork business to make use of all the pigs we catch in the city,” he said.
The BBMP contract states that for every pig they catch, the civic body should pay them ₹500, while the contractor needs to weigh the pig and pay back the civic body ₹50 per kilo of meat yield.
Sources said that a kilo of pork meat in the market is in the range of ₹80 – 90, if uncut and untrimmed and ₹200 – Rs. 220, when cut and cleaned.
Anand, Joint Director, Animal Husbandary, BBMP, said that the tender was drafted to give the contractor an incentive to catch as many pigs as possible.
“A blanket contract to catch pigs would have led to possible non-performance,” he said.
Henceforth, the civic body will forward complaints to Mr. Munichandra and his team of around 20 men. BBMP officials said that now, all stray pigs will be caught by the contractor and not returned back to anybody who claims the pigs belong to them, unless they produce documents of a pig farm.
Garbage and rampant breeding root causes
Unscientific disposal of garbage and rampant black spots, especially in open plots of lands, coupled with unbridled illegal breeding of pigs in certain pockets of the city are the root causes for the stray pig menace, say BBMP officials.
In 2015, the civic body conducted a survey and even identified pockets of illegal pig breeding, most of them in north and south-east Bengaluru. Areas near Peenya, Bommanahalli and Sarjapura are some of the identified hotspots. However, multiple crackdown raids on these colonies have yielded little results.
“In most of these colonies, pigs are reared at individual houses like pets and are let loose on the streets to graze. These pigs enter residential localities attracted by garbage, if found in mounds by roadside or in empty plots,” said Sarfaraz Khan, Joint Commissioner, Solid Waste Management and Health, BBMP adding that all measures were being taken to ensure the city is black-spot free.
His complaint reflects the angst of residents in the neighbourhood who have been fighting a losing battle against the menace.
Despite complaints, the civic body has not been able to put an end to the menace in the locality. But that could all change now.
After six years and three failed tenders, the BBMP successfully awarded a pan-city contract to catch stray pigs in the city for the next one year. Work is set to begin from February 1.
There’s a cautious optimism among residents in affected neighbourhoods. With no expertise in catching stray pigs and failed tenders, the civic body was as helpless as citizens.
During the six-year period with no strategy, the pig population is said to have multiplied manifold and it is estimated that the city now has nearly 5,000 stray pigs.
“Pigs usually attack men and bite back during its capture. Catching stray pigs needs special skill and a large team. As we had no such expertise, we were left to only chase these pigs out of the city every time residents complained,” said a senior BBMP official.
Munichandra, a third-generation pig farm owner from Malur, has been awarded the contract.
“Our family has been in the business in Malur for three generations and hence have a captive pig farm and a pork business to make use of all the pigs we catch in the city,” he said.
The BBMP contract states that for every pig they catch, the civic body should pay them ₹500, while the contractor needs to weigh the pig and pay back the civic body ₹50 per kilo of meat yield.
Sources said that a kilo of pork meat in the market is in the range of ₹80 – 90, if uncut and untrimmed and ₹200 – Rs. 220, when cut and cleaned.
Anand, Joint Director, Animal Husbandary, BBMP, said that the tender was drafted to give the contractor an incentive to catch as many pigs as possible.
“A blanket contract to catch pigs would have led to possible non-performance,” he said.
Henceforth, the civic body will forward complaints to Mr. Munichandra and his team of around 20 men. BBMP officials said that now, all stray pigs will be caught by the contractor and not returned back to anybody who claims the pigs belong to them, unless they produce documents of a pig farm.
Garbage and rampant breeding root causes
Unscientific disposal of garbage and rampant black spots, especially in open plots of lands, coupled with unbridled illegal breeding of pigs in certain pockets of the city are the root causes for the stray pig menace, say BBMP officials.
In 2015, the civic body conducted a survey and even identified pockets of illegal pig breeding, most of them in north and south-east Bengaluru. Areas near Peenya, Bommanahalli and Sarjapura are some of the identified hotspots. However, multiple crackdown raids on these colonies have yielded little results.
“In most of these colonies, pigs are reared at individual houses like pets and are let loose on the streets to graze. These pigs enter residential localities attracted by garbage, if found in mounds by roadside or in empty plots,” said Sarfaraz Khan, Joint Commissioner, Solid Waste Management and Health, BBMP adding that all measures were being taken to ensure the city is black-spot free.