A new effluent treatment plant developed byKerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University(KVASU) has the twin advantages of mitigating fears of contaminating neighbouring water bodies and drastically cutting down water consumption through recycling.
The plant set up at the university’s Centre for Pig Production and Research (CPPR), Mannuthy, can treat 75000-80,000 litres of effluent per day. Presently, nearly 50,000 litres of effluent is required to water the fodder plots of the university’s Farm, Mannuthy, and the rest of the 25,000-30,000 litres is treated in the plant.
According toKeralaanimal husbandry department assistant directorDr R Venugopal, the current pig Population in Kerala is about 90,000. But farmers’ association leaders said Keralites consume the meat of at least six lakh pigs per year. The state is the largest consumer of pig meat in south India