Tripura govt starts culling pigs in African Swine Fever hit Debipur farm
Agartala, Apr 24: The Tripura Animal Resource Development (ARD) department has culled 165 pigs and piglets at the government-run Debipur farm and adjacent areas in Sepahijala district after African Swine Fever (ASF) was detected among pigs, an official said.
The culling operation started on Saturday after confirmation of African Swine Fever (ASF) among pigs at the Debipur farm and on instruction from the Centre.
"On Saturday 121 pigs and piglets were culled at Debipur farm while 44 pigs were disposed of in the localities falling under one km radius", said Director of ARD, DK Chakma.
Two teams have been pressed into the task and the culling operation is expected to be completed by Sunday in presence of veterinary officers, he said.
At least 27 pigs have died at Debipur farm mysteriously since April 13 prompting the department to send blood samples for ASF test in Guwahati. Recently, the North Eastern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (NERDDL), Guwahati has confirmed the presence of ASF in blood samples sent from the farm.
Chakma said an alert has been sounded across the state to stop the movement of pigs and piglets from one place to another as part of precautionary measures.
He, however, made it clear that pork is fit for human consumption after proper boiling as it is African Swine Fever (ASF) not African Swine Flu.
An awareness campaign has already begun in Sepahijala district involving local administration and panchayat samitis on African swine fever.
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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.
