Abattoir in Ghazipur to reopen today after panel gives go-ahead
The Ghazipur slaughterhouse, where goat, sheep and buffaloes are slaughtered to meet domestic demand, was shut on May 30 by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) after its CTO was revoked.
Over a month after it was closed, the Ghazipur slaughterhouse — Delhi’s lone legal facility to butcher buffaloes, sheep, and goats — has got the nod to reopen with immediate effect.
While reinstating the abattoir’s consent to operate (CTO) on Wednesday, a committee comprising Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) officials said the slaughterhouse will have to adhere to the norms and conditions laid down by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on July 5, including installing and adopting nano-filtration and RO technology within a period of six months.
The Ghazipur slaughterhouse, where goat, sheep and buffaloes are slaughtered to meet domestic demand, was shut on May 30 by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) after its CTO was revoked. This came after the NGT on May 19 ordered the joint committee to certify whether the Ghazipur slaughterhouse should be allowed to operate or not.
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On Wednesday, the director of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD)’s veterinary services department was informed that the CTO, which was valid till September 13, 2022, had been reinstated with immediate effect; however, the MCD needs to establish a system for 100% water recycling, using either RO or nano-filtration, within a period of six months, and mandatorily reuse the treated water.
The other conditions include the need to establish a ‘biomethanisation/ingesta/dung drying plant’ at the earliest, based on the advice of technical expert. The civic body will also have to reapply for a fresh CTO this year itself as the current one will expire in September.
An MCD official said they received a copy of the order and operations at the slaughterhouse are likely to resume on Thursday.
“We will comply with the new directions and the abattoir is expected to be operational from Thursday,” the official said, asking not to be named.
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Gulfam Qureshi, who heads the local livestock market in Ghazipur, said there were 6,000 licensed traders attached to the Ghazipur slaughter market and they were suffering for the past one month. The decision to reopen it is welcome, he said. “While we are yet to see an order copy, the MCD has already begun cleaning up the site. We are hopeful that we can start operating from Thursday,” he said, adding that they are glad that the slaughterhouse will reopen before Eid on Sunday.
The facility, built at a cost of ₹150 crore by the MCD, became operational in 2009.
It has three slaughter halls -- one for large animals and two for small animals. While poultry slaughter is allowed in several places in the city, goats, lambs and buffaloes can only be butchered at the Ghazipur slaughterhouse, located on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border. It has a capacity to operate in three shifts with two shifts reserved to meet domestic consumption. Each shift handles about 4,500 sheep and goats and 500 buffaloes.
