Rawalpindi:
Residents of Jhanda Chichi, a densely populated neighborhood located between VIP movement zones in Rawalpindi, live in fear as wild boar has begun to roam around the area freely. According to locals, these wild pigs often appear in groups or alone, especially after sunset, and stay until dawn.
They have repeatedly attacked children, women and pedestrians and caused damage. The animals live on household waste that is dumped in empty grounds, cemeteries and alleys.
Due to growing fears, many residents – especially women and children – avoid stepping out alone. In some cases, the pigs have even been looked at hiking on main roads.
Eyewitness Malik Shehbaz Latif declared that the animals are migrated from the Ayub Park area via the banks of Nullah Leh.
Previously, they would return in the morning, but now they have made permanent homes in the overwested foliage of the old Jhanda Chichi Graveyard.
The locals say that stray dogs only beams on the pigs at a distance, but never engage them. Residents fear that without immediate intervention, the boar could double or triple within a year.
Meanwhile, the area with over 70,000 people still stands with other bourgeois questions. Residents have been without drinking water for two months despite several complaints.
Power lines hang dangerously low across alleys and pose serious risks, especially during rain. Recently, a resident was electrocuted because of these exposed wires.
The locals, including Malik Shehbaz, Sharif Qureshi and Arif Shah, have called on the district administration and the civil defense to take quick actions.
