LAHORE, Aug 10: The Allama Iqbal Town administration has failed to implement the Punjab governor’s directive to improve the Kot Kamboh slaughterhouse.
Expressing concern over the pathetic conditions at the slaughterhouse during his visit early last month the governor had ordered improvement within 15 days. The town administration has, however, awarded Rs4.3 million contracts for the restoration of the slaughterhouse to “its 1960s position.” The number of animals brought for slaughter in a week at the time was less than the number now being slaughtered in a day.
Work at the slaughterhouse is proceeding at a tardy pace because heavy slaughtering goes on for the most of the week. Slaughtering in the beef section starts at 10am and continues till 1pm. It is then cleaned and slaughtering is resumed at 4pm. It continues until the desired number of animals — 400 to 500 — has been slaughtered. The repairs can, therefore, be carried out only on the meatless days — Tuesday and Wednesday.
Slaughtering in the mutton section starts at 8.30pm and continues till 10.30pm when it is suspended for cleaning. It resumes at 2.30am and continues till 8am. An average of 6,000 goats and sheep are slaughtered in a day. The place is available for repair from 11am onwards.
The 44-years old abattoir is the biggest source of pollution and stench in the area. Outside its mutton and beef sheds blood flows into deep pits from where it is taken away for processing.
The slaughterhouse consists of two sheds for slaughtering goats and sheep and three for cows, buffaloes, oxen and camels. It has been built on a 29-kanal plot. Over several acres adjacent to it there are animal waste processing plants that handle blood, offal and intestines. A large number of stray dogs, kites and vultures hover around in search of food.
The governor found the slaughterhouse in a miserable shape since the civic authorities have never bothered to repair it after its construction in 1958. The number of butchers has now risen to 800.
The sheds consist of skeleton brick structures with corrugated sheet-iron roofs and rusted T-iron supports. There are large openings on all sides covered by iron grills and wiregauze. Wiregauze shutters outside the rusted iron grills have been torn apart. Only the brick structures are intact. A slaughterhouse employee told Dawn it was being repaired for the first time in his 19 years of service.
The slaughterhouse was shifted to the existing premises from Rajgarh in 1958. The building, situated at the periphery of the provincial metropolis at that time, consisted of only large sheds enclosed by iron grills and wiregauze to keep out flies. A number of iron pipes were fixed inside for hanging the slaughtered animals. Water for washing the meat was supplied from an overhead tank. There were drains for carrying clotted blood to the concrete pits around the sheds.
Only a small concrete shelter was built in front of the sheds for the butchers. The space was considered large enough for slaughtering around 1,000 goats and sheep and 150 cows, buffaloes and oxen for less than two million Lahoris.