Rs 30 crore abattoir in Thiruvananthapuram remains a non-starter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After preparing a detailed project report (DPR) for a Rs 30-crore  refurbished city abattoir, the civic body has not been able to start the work on the facility at Kunnukuzhy till date. The project was described pricey and shot down by state government as it went for sanctions. The city abattoir was closed down in 2012 by Pollution Control Board. Since then, the seizure of stale meat was frequent in the city that has no legal slaughterhouses. Finally, in 2016, the corporation prepared a DPR worth over Rs 25 crore in consultation with Pookode Veterinary College.

The health standing committee chairperson K. Sreekumar said that now a new estimate will be prepared by Suchitwa Mission to build a smaller facility. “DPR envisaged a facility that could slaughter hundreds of animals every day. We are going to make a smaller facility now as it won’t be practical to centralise abattoir in a city with such a large area,” he said. “Now the project has been included under KIFB (Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board) along with four other abattoirs in the state.”

The original plan was to have a facility that could slaughter 100 cattle and 300 goats a day. At the time of its closure, the abattoir used to generate around 800kg of meat per day from animals verified by veterinarians. It was closed down as it did not have sufficient waste management facility.  A senior ruling council member, when asked about the possibility of having an abattoir in next few years, told Deccan Chronicle that he wished to speak only about projects that may become a reality.