Guwahati: African Swine Fever hit Kaliabor. The disease tore through the farm owned by Lohit Saikia at Dalgan Borpeta Doloni. Eighty pigs died in only 15 days. Their total market value hit nearly Rs 20 lakh.
Saikia built this operation to find independence. He took a bank loan of Rs 8 lakh to get it off the ground. Now, he faces a mountain of debt with no livestock left to sell. Authorities stepped in to finish the job. They culled the remaining animals that showed symptoms, burying them in pits to stop the virus from spreading further.
This outbreak adds to a growing list of cases across the state of Assam. It puts the entire livestock sector at risk. Official containment protocols are currently active. Saikia spoke on his sudden misfortune: "The outbreak has devastated the pig farm of Lohit Saikia, a resident of Dalgan Borpeta Doloni in Kaliabor, who had established the venture with the aim of becoming self-reliant through commercial pig farming."
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