Hogs in limelight: Government denies arrangement to import pigs from Punjab

Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, Sep. 20: In a dampener to the much-hyped announcement to import 8000 live pigs per month from Punjab, amounting to INR 200 cr., the state’s Department of Under-Developed Area (DUDA) and the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services have denied making any agreement with the Punjab government.
A joint meeting of the DUDA and Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services was held on September 19. A joint press statement issued by the DUDA director KS Anden Konyak and director of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services, Dr. Aomayang Walling, clarified that the import of 8000 live pigs monthly at the rate of INR 200 cr. per annum was wrongly stated and published in the media without the knowledge of the two departments.

Speaking to Eastern Mirror, an official from the Veterinary department denied signing any agreement on the import of pigs from Punjab. Besides, the official informed that the news report was ‘blown out of proportion.’ While admitting that officials from Nagaland had undertaken preliminary survey to Punjab to get first-hand knowledge about the possibility for trade of pigs, the official denied making any agreement on the issue.

The official informed that they were taken by surprise with the utterances of the Punjab minister Balbir Singh Sidhu, saying it was against the pig breeding policy of the state government. The official had rather accused the minister of trying to entice voters in the ensuing zila parishad elections, who mostly constitute pig farmers from the constituency.

Even as the state had attained certain level in catering to the demand in the piggery sector with the introduction of various schemes, the official disclosed that Nagaland still needs to import a maximum of 400 to 500 pigs per month.