Kashmir needs modern abattoirs to rebuild trust

Srinagar, Oct 2: The past few months have tested Jammu and Kashmir’s consumers and food business on many fronts.

The crisis that started with the seizure of 12,000 kg of substandard meat in Srinagar peripheries at the tail end of July this year resulted in a slump in the businesses of restaurants, meat retailers, and a chasm in the trust of people in their food chain.

Experts said that the only sustainable solution to ensure a safe meat supply, rebuild consumer trust, and revive the struggling food business sector is the establishment of modern and regulated abattoirs.

The lack of functional slaughterhouses is a lacuna that allows quality to be compromised.

With no watch, consumers feel betrayed, and bad business practices thrive.

The yearly mutton consumption in J&K is estimated at 60,000 tonnes, nearly half of it being brought in from other parts of the country.

Barring two, all of the abattoirs that existed in the Kashmir division are either dilapidated or closed.

An abattoir located in Rainawari, Srinagar, with a capacity of 500 to 1000 animals a day, is operational.

However, the lack of veterinary inspections pre and post-slaughter is a lacuna in this facility as well, sources said.

Another one in Budgam retains some rudimentary functionality.

Slaughter houses existed in Kani Kadal, Budgam, Anantnag, Bandipora, Kulgam, Sopore, Handwara, and Pahalgam, all brought to a grinding halt over the past decades.

However, a modern abattoir is in the pipeline.

It is a mechanised sheep and goat slaughterhouse at Allochi Bagh in Srinagar, coming up with an Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) model.

However, the construction has been halted due to land disputes.

Commissioner Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC), Faz Lul Haseeb, told Greater Kashmir that the abattoir was in the final stages and would be made functional soon.

“We are on it. The formalities are complete,” he said.

The lacunae make the backyard slaughter thrive and add to the reliance on meat imports.

The meat is often stored without a proper cold chain.

Modern abattoirs could help the meat trade jump to the traditional consumption patterns, just safer.

These would enforce mandatory veterinary checks, stamping, and Halal certification.

Illegal practices and dependency on imports would be reduced.

People and food business operators could have access to a safe supply of meat, and the government could put stricter vigilance on the meats that enter J&K.

In the past, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and Pollution Control Board (PCB) have also sought sustainability through Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) and setting up facilities for waste management.

Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo recently issued directions for inter-departmental coordination for modern slaughterhouses and cold chains.

The J&K High Court order, in a PIL hearing in early September, highlighted the absence of functional slaughterhouses in both Srinagar and Jammu.

However, the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) has submitted in court that it maintains two operational abattoirs with a total processing capacity of 500 animals a day.

The facilities have been upgraded for humane, scientific slaughter, ante and post-mortem veterinary inspections, and the meat is stamped for quality inspections.