KARACHI, June 9: With more than 6,000 tonnes of beef and mutton being consumed in Karachi every month, there is no policy for a well-managed slaughter, transportation and sale of meat in the city. Such a policy could ensure that hygienic standards are met.

While the regular supply of hygienic meat in Karachi was taken seriously by the authorities in the mid-60s, successive governments besides the defunct KMC and presently the City Government ignored this important issue.

Presently, Karachi has two official abattoirs, both working in unhygienic conditions if the internationally recognized standards are kept in view. About 4,000 to 5,000 goats and up to 1,500 cattle are slaughtered at the Landhi slaughterhouse, while about 200 cattle are slaughtered in the New Karachi slaughterhouse.

Reliable records pertaining to the abattoirs and sale outlets in Karachi are not available with the veterinary department of the defunct KMC, which now falls under the agriculture department.

According to an official of the veterinary department, butchers illegally and without authorization slaughter cattle, goats and sheep in almost all the middle- and lower-middle-class localities of Karachi. The infamous areas in this regard are Liaquatabad, Lyari, Burns Road, Mauripur and Sohrab Goth.

The renovation and repair budget of Rs0.5 million for Landhi and New Karachi slaughterhouses is also expected to lapse without being utilized. As a result, the abattoirs will continue to perform with pathetic standards for at least one more year.

Meanwhile, there are 21 meat markets in Karachi, which were established either before independence or some decades ago. These include the Empress Market, Gurumandir Market and Kharadar Market. Most of these markets are in a shambles with damaged floors and broken windows, allowing dust and insects to move freely in and out of them.

Since none of the meat markets have been whitewashed in many years and their sanitation systems are not functioning properly, consumers prefer to purchase meat from well-managed shops of the areas as they are reluctant to visit these gloomy meat markets run by the City Government.

As a result, a majority of the government meat markets have become sale outlets for low-quality meat.

An official of the veterinary department blamed a complicated system for wretched conditions of the meat markets, since the property is owned by the estates department and uplift work is to be done by the works and services department.

According to an official of the veterinary department, more than 6,000 tonnes of red meat is consumed in Karachi but there is no comprehensive policy to control slaughter and sale of meat all over the city. The department is only equipped with one team consisting of two doctors and six staff.

There are only 1,388 licensed meat shops in Karachi. The shops and stalls established at footpaths are not issued licenses by the veterinary department of the City Government. However, inspections are conducted by the department at such sale points to ensure that standards and quality are maintained.

The authorities try to discourage unauthorized slaughter and sale of meat at every nook and corner of the city, but it has been observed that residents due to their lack of confidence in the official slaughterhouses, prefer to buy meat from such outlets, where live animals are slaughtered. Even after the passage of more than twenty-six years since the completion of the Landhi Abattoir, neither the defunct KMC nor the City Government has finalized a plan to make it fully operational.— PPI