The City District Government Lahore (CDGL) will launch a crackdown on illegal abattoirs in the Bakar Mandi area of the city, Pakistan Today learnt on Friday.
Sources privy to the matter say Lahore Division Commissioner Jawad Rafiq Malik has directed District Officer (Environment) Tariq Zaman to chalk out a plan of action against slaughterhouses that are violating the prescribed rules. The commissioner has also ordered the official to impose fines on those involved in the unauthorised business, failing which their slaughterhouses could be shut down and the authorities would arrest them.
During a meeting with the commissioner on Friday, Iqbal Town TMO Arif Barki said that around 20 people had been arrested and fined. He said cases had also been registered with police against them. The commissioner has also told Assistant Commissioner (City) Amina Muneer to submit record of occupants and legal owners of slaughterhouses at Bakar Mandi and Shahpur Kanjran.
According to the West Pakistan Slaughter Control Act 1963, slaughtering animals for meat should be strictly undertaken in the allotted places with mandatory inspection by veterinarians. The CDGL sources said that unlicensed slaughterhouses had spread in the proximity of Bakar Mandi where some people were running illegal businesses.
“These houses can be referred to as mere slabs with no arrangement of hygiene and sanitation. There are no storage and quality control measures in place. Sometimes meat gets rotten, especially in the summer,” sources said.