No takers for Thiruvananthapuram Corporation’s modern abattoir project

Thiruvananthapuram: The ambitious plan of the City Corporation to set up a modern slaughter house in the state capital has faced a setback as only a single bidder came forward to take part in the bidding process.  The plan of the civic body is to set up a modern abattoir at Kunnukuzhy at a cost of Rs 9.62 crores. The project is likely to get delayed further as the civic body is gearing up to float yet another Expression of Interest (EoI) to woo more bidders having expertise in the field.

It is learnt that the civic body got the technical sanction and permission from the Pollution Control Board (PCB) to go ahead with the proposal.  Currently, the state capital doesn't have an authorised slaughterhouse to cater to the need of the public. According to officials, the project was expected to take off this month.

"Modern abattoir is something which is unknown to many. We don't have a model slaughter house with modern facility anywhere in the state. That is the reason why more bidders didn't turn up. We hope more bidders would take part next time. Our plan is to complete the project by 2020," said the official.

The State Pollution Control Board shut down the corporation owned slaughterhouse for not having proper waste disposal mechanism back in 2012. Since then, several efforts made by the civic authorities to reopen the abattoir failed. "PCB shouldn't have shut down the only slaughterhouse here. Sealing a facility is the easiest thing they could do. PCB should have worked with us help us rectify the flaws at the abattoir. Public is at the receiving end," said an official at  the Corporation.