Source: http://www.thehindu.com

The Chennai Mutton Merchant (Retailers) Association has urged the Chennai Corporation to take steps to open the new Perambur abattoir, the inauguration of which has been delayed for quite some time now. The modernised abattoir, built at a cost of Rs.48 crore, was supposed to have been inaugurated last year. The New Delhi-based Hind Agro Industries has implemented the project on a design-build-operate-and- transfer basis, and the civic body would earn an annual royalty Rs.40 lakh from the facility,” said the Association’s general secretary Anwar Basha.

Over 1,000 wholesalers and 2,000 workers use the old abattoir that was constructed in 1903. The civic body decided to modernise the slaughter house to improve sanitation in the area.

The concessionaire was to have paid Rs.40 lakh per year to the civic body and this amount would increase by 5 per cent every year. A total of 250 goats and 60 cattle heads per hour can be processed at the facility.

The facilities at the new abattoir include cold storage, hide-processing room, administrative office and waste treatment plant.

The abattoir would be used to slaughter 2,000 goats daily. Mr. Basha said that goats and sheep from Gudur, Guntur, Rajasthan, Mahasthra, Gujarat are processed every day, and sent to retail markets all over the city including to those in Mirsahibpet, Saidapet, Mandaveli, Pudupet, Seven Wells and licensed holders.

“The sewer lines in the present abattoir are in a poor shape and get clogged often. We need to move to the new complex before the monsoon,” he said.

Former Mayor M. Subramanian said immediate steps must be taken to open the abattoir. This measure would help in improving the sanitation in the neighbourhood.

After the wholesalers move to the new facility, the old one must be pulled down and a park created in its place, he said.