The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Kunnukuzhy abattoir to be modernised

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Kunnukuzhy abattoir to be modernised

T. Nandakumar

Thiruvananthapuram: In a move aimed at checking the illegal slaughter of animals and ensuring hygienic supply of meat and meat products, the City Corporation has drawn up a project to modernise the abattoir at Kunnukuzhy and equip it with better infrastructure facilities. The annual budget of the civic body has earmarked Rs.50 lakh for the project.

The work involves laying tiles, repairing the damaged pulleys for the rail system, landscaping the premises and ensuring adequate water supply. Apart from the borewell on the premises, two tanker lorries will be pressed into service to provide water to the abattoir.

Two tanks have been installed for collection of wastewater in accordance with the guidelines of the State Pollution Control Board.

Civic officials said moves were on to provide a biogas plant for better handling of animal waste. The Corporation has also initiated discussions with the Veterinary College, Mannuthy, as part of a programme to take up processing of meat.

Cold chain facility

Senior Veterinary Surgeon L. Ravikumar said plans were afoot to set up satellite slaughterhouses on the outskirts of the city and a network of meat stalls with refrigeration facilities. The project is to be taken up with Central assistance under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. He said the cold chain facility would help to stagger the slaughter timing and ensure 24-hour supply of safe meat throughout the city.

Civic officials maintain that the recent crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses operating at various locations in the city had paid dividends. "Since the drive began, the number of animals brought to the slaughterhouse at Kunnukuzhy has registered a steady increase," they point out.

Health hazards

The lack of facilities at the abattoir at Kunnukuzhy is responsible for the health hazards and public nuisance caused by illegal slaughter of animals.

Hardly one-tenth of the city's meat requirements is met by the Corporation-run slaughterhouse, with the rest supplied by wayside butchers flouting all rules.

As a result, only about 20 heads of cattle are brought to the abattoir at Kunnukuzhy which is equipped with facilities to handle 50 animals daily. The major portion of the daily demand for meat is met by unhygienic slaughter sheds attached to the city markets.

The premises of hotels and houses at various places in the city are also used to butcher the animals in brazen violation of public health safeguards.

A network of agents regularly supplies bovines and goats to the illegal abattoirs. The slaughter takes place between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. and the meat reached to the hotels and markets well before the city wakes up.

Official sources say many of the illegal slaughterhouses operate in miserable conditions. Diseased or dead animals are often brought for slaughter. The meat is fly-infested and contaminated with mud and dirt. At many places, unsold meat is frozen and marketed the next day. There are reports that customers for mutton are duped into buying the meat of calves.

The Kunnukuzhy slaughterhouse is equipped with an ante-mortem examination hall, meat testing laboratory, sterilisation equipment and a rail system for moving the carcass. With the failure to make the freezer unit operational, the mandatory eight-hour chilling is not being done.

Health standing committee members admit that action against unauthorised abattoirs has been tardy. They maintain that the funds spent on modernising the Kunnukuzhy unit would be wasted unless strong measures are taken to bring the offenders to book. Vendors are sometimes tipped off by Corporation employees about raids.

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