259 pigs died this year in Meghalaya due to African Swine Fever: Official
Shillong, May 9: At least 259 pigs have died in Meghalaya's Ri-Bhoi district this year due to African Swine Fever (ASF), a senior official of the Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Department said on Monday.
"At least 259 pigs have died in four neighbouring villages in Ri-Bhoi district. They had all tested positive for ASF," Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Department principal secretary GHP Raju told PTI.
He said 45 pigs died on Sunday.
As per the department's livestock census, there are over 53,000 pigs in the district and a total of 3.85 lakh pigs were registered across the state.
The Veterinary department first reported the outbreak on April 13 following which instructions were issued under the Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animals Act, 2009, banning slaughter, movement of pigs and supplies at Umshorshor village and within 10 km of its vicinity.
According to the notification, villages under one km radius surrounding infected premises (epicentre of disease) designated as Infected Zone and all villages falling under 10 km radius surrounding infected premises (epicentre of disease) designated as Surveillance Zone .
While movements of pigs are allowed in the surveillance zone, pigs are not allowed to move to the infected zones and handlers are not allowed to move to other pig sheds.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
