NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court-appointed Delhi slaughterhouse monitoring committee inspected the Ghazipur murga mandi on Monday. It has stated that a number of violations are taking place at the market. These include unhygienic conditions, lack of supervision, improper handling and no check on the number of birds and fish arriving there.
Gauri Maulekhi, trustee at the People for Animals (PFA) and a member of the monitoring committee, said a report will be prepared based on observations and submitted to the urban secretary (development) for action.
Violations present at the market include:
- No supervising officer on site.
- No checks on the number of birds and fish arriving to the Ghazipur market. Zero information on their sources or health records as well.
- Animals slaughtered in improper ways and in unhygienic conditions.
- Birds transported in cramped cages.
During the inspection, the committee found lakhs of fish and birds arriving at the market,. However. there was no system in place to track the consignments and their source. “No records are being maintained about the exact number of birds and fish coming to the market and from where the consignments originated. Their health records are also not being tracked,” said Maulekhi.
Another committee member said that the birds were being slaughtered in the open without following proper practices. The carcasses of the birds were being dumped out in the open and in drains. There was no clear demarcation between dead and alive birds.
“Fish scales, refused parts and feathers were seen choking drains. No health certificates could be produced by the butcher to indicate the animal was not suffering from any communicable disease,” said a member.
Maulekhi said the birds were transported inside cramped cages, a violation of the Transport of Animal Rules, 1978. “From handling of birds to the slaughtering place, no rules are being followed. Let alone use gloves, the slaughtering takes place in a cramped space with one bird next to another. The carcasses pose all sorts of health risks,” she added.
The committee will submit a list of recommendations along with photographs of the violations. “We have recorded illegal borewell connections too. We will ask the authorities to impose fines and take action against the violators. Those without health certificates should also face prosecution,” said Maulekhi.
Earlier Maulekhi had filed a PIL in Delhi high court arguing that only trading of live poultry birds should be allowed at the Ghazipur market and not the slaughterhouse, which is illegal. The petition, proceedings for which are still on, also said that illegal slaughtering of 2.5 lakh poultry birds was taking place every day at the market.