Joda: People of this iron ore-rich town of Keonjhar district were in a state of panic after the death of three pigs within a week in ward-2 of this municipality.
The swine were found dead at Baneikala slum during last week and the municipality executive in-charge Bhaktabandhu Mahant has been apprised of the development, councillor Srikant Samant said.
Municipal sanitation officer Rajendra Kumar Mishra, however, said two, and not three pigs were found dead and both were buried in a nearby forest. Mishra couldn’t say about the reason of death and admitted that he has not informed the veterinary officials about it.
On the other hand, locals alleged the carcasses were not buried properly and it can create health hazard for the people.
When contacted, Joda development council chairman Niranjan Bahidar said people are panicky over serial death of pigs in the town. The reason of death would have been known had the carcasses been sent for post-mortem. The death of swine can soon turn into an epidemic unless the administration addresses the issue, Bahidar added.
When contacted for more information, veterinary doctor Madhab Choudhury said the civic body authorities had not informed him about the deaths. There is law in place to keep the pigs about 5 km away from human habitation to prevent viral diseases like swine flu and Japanese Encephalitis, he cautioned.
Expressing concern over the issue, collector N Tirumala Nayak said the administration has taken the issue seriously and soon measures would be taken. PNN
