In a meeting held with Mayor Shubha Raul and other corporators, Phatak agreed to shut down the facility to slaughter buffaloes in two years. “The livestock of buffaloes is decreasing and there has been a sharp fall in the export of buffalo meat also. Hence the facility can be closed down in phases in two years,” he said. While a few years ago around 52,000 buffaloes were being slaughtered for export, last year the figure was 2,300.
Phatak would not commit himself on closing down the facility for export of sheep, lamb, goat and other animals. “We will meet officials and operators from Deonar abattoir on November 17 to discuss the issue,” he added. About 7 lakh lambs, sheep and goats were slaughtered last year for export and the figure increases each year.
The municipal commissioner was irked at the demand by Raul and other Sena and BJP leaders that the BMC should stop the facility for exporters immediately. “Why is this issue being brought up after 20 years? The facility cannot be closed down immediately as a lot of people are dependent on it. One has to also consider their jobs,” he said. The meat export facility started in 1973 when BMC realised that the abattoir was underutilised.
BMC slaughters animals and provides electricity and water, but export and processing needs are handled by private firms, which pay a fee to become members of the slaughterhouse.
“BMC is a service provider and it is under its purview to provide meat to the citizens of Mumbai and not foreigners. However, large numbers of animals are slaughtered-and this facility is provided by BMC-for meat to be exported to foreign countries,” said Bhalchandra Shirsat, a BJP leader in the BMC.
“The facility to exporters should be stopped so that, instead of exporting meat, adequate meat will be provided to Mumbai citizens. This will also cut down on illegal slaughterhouses which have sprung due to lack of facilities for slaughtering animals and ensure hygienic meat is supplied to all,” said Raul.
Elected representatives said that there was tremendous pressure from the Jain community to close down the facility for export. About 60 per cent of the meat processed at the abattoir is exported mostly to the Middle East and earns the civic body a revenue of around Rs 3 crore annually. The BMC, however, faces an overall loss of Rs 6 crore.
A few months ago, monks and members of the Jain community-who have a strong presence in the city’s votebank- had sent SMSes to members of the standing committee, threatening to vote them out if the proposal to modernise the abattoir was passed and export not banned. The Rs 100 crore overhaul proposal is still awaiting approval.
URL: http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/buffaloes-slaughterhouse-to-shut-down-in-two-years/381652/