SHILLONG, SEPT 10: In an unusual protest, piggery farmers accompanied by live pigs marched from Civil Hospital to Malki Ground in Shillong on Thursday, seeking government intervention following the African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak.
Organised by the Hill Farmers Union, the rally sought to highlight the plight of over 1,200 families affected across the state.
Union general secretary Alfonbirth Kharsyntiew said repeated requests for meetings with the Chief Minister and Animal Husbandry Minister went unanswered.
“We were forced to take to the streets to be heard. We took permission from the Deputy Commissioner and police for a peaceful gathering,” he said.
He said the Piggery Mission beneficiaries who received interest-free loans are now unable to repay after losing all livestock to ASF.
Kharsyntiew blamed the government for failing to enforce its own SOP of August 10, 2023, which requires random testing, entry through designated checkposts and quarantine of pigs brought from outside the state.
“No such checkposts exist in Ri-Bhoi. This failure has allowed ASF to spread,” he alleged.
The union demanded setting up of check posts with quarantine facilities, waiver of loans for Piggery Mission beneficiaries and compensation for individual farmers who availed loans for pig rearing.
It also demanded the government stop illegal collection and extortion at check points allegedly involving miscreants and police, and to come up with a comprehensive agriculture policy.
“Our first memorandum to the Chief Minister in 2018 demanded an agriculture policy. Eight years have passed with no progress,” Kharsyntiew said.
