The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Government withdraws order on abattoirs

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Monday, Jan 05, 2009
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Government withdraws order on abattoirs

Special Correspondent

The KMPMCL order was to have come into
effect from January 5
Red meat was in short supply in Bangalore
on Sunday

BANGALORE: The State Government withdrew its order to close down the three slaughterhouses in the city, much to the relief of meat merchants.

In a fresh order dated January 3, the State-run Karnataka Meat and Poultry Marketing Corporation Limited (KMPMCL) restored the meat merchants their rights to slaughter animals at the abattoirs on Tannery Road, Yeshwanthpur and City Market till further orders.

The order came after the meat merchants of the city met Governor Rameshwar Thakur and senior officials on Saturday and lodged a protest against the abrupt closure of the slaughterhouses, which supply mutton and beef to an estimated 4,000 meat stalls across Bangalore.

On December 31, 2008, the KMPMCL ordered closure of the three slaughterhouses with effect from January 5. However, the fresh order from the Government to allow day-to-day activities at the slaughterhouses reached the meat merchants even as they had gathered in large numbers in front of the Tannery Road slaughterhouse on Sunday to stage a protest.

Meanwhile, red meat was not available in many parts of the city on Sunday as meat merchants had stopped slaughtering animals from Saturday in protest against the authorities’ decision to close down the abattoirs. Chicken and fish vendors did a roaring business in view of the non-availability of mutton. The Karnataka Sheep and Goat Traders and Mutton Merchants’ Association president Chotu Khuraishi told The Hindu that the meat merchants were relieved with the Government’s decision to withdraw the order on closure of slaughterhouses.

But the threat of closure of the abattoirs continues in view of the High Court’s direction to shift the slaughterhouses from their present location. “Though several alternative places have been identified for the construction of a slaughterhouse, there have been protests by local people at almost all the places,” Mr. Khuraishi said.

The State Government should come to the rescue of meat merchants by reviving its proposal to modernise the existing slaughterhouse at Tannery Road out of the funds made available by the Centre.

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