Morang’s slaughterhouse remains useless

By Our Correspondent,Urlabari, Sept.5: The slaughterhouse built at Pathari-Shanishchare Municipality in Morang district has not come into operation even three years after its construction was completed due to a lack of required equipment. 

Stakeholders have blamed the practice of executing the project without ensuring an adequate budget for the delay in bringing the slaughterhouse into operation. 

The slaughterhouse built in  Ward No. 1 of  Pathari-Shanishchare Municipality under the Livestock Slaughterhouse Development Programme of the Directorate of Livestock of Koshi Province has remained useless due to a lack of a budget to install the required equipment, said the Chief Administrative Officer of the municipality, Sashi Rai.  

The DPR of the slaughterhouse that spreads over one-and-a-half Bigha of land was built for Rs. 7.5 million, and Rs 5 million of that was provided as a conditional grant by the Livestock Slaughterhouse Development Programme of the Directorate of Livestock of Koshi Province while the remaining budget was managed by the neighbouring municipalities. Rai said that more than Rs. 1 million is required to furnish the interior of the slaughterhouse with the required materials.

The contractor company, Madi RKD Constructions of Itahari, constructed the slaughterhouse at Rs. 5 million and handed it over to the municipality. 

 The slaughterhouse has enough space to slaughter five big animals or 12 small animals daily.

Bhim Kumar Rai, Chairperson of Ward NO 1, said, "The slaughterhouse will have the health checkup facility for animals, and processing and meat freezing facilities."  According to him, they need at least Rs. 1.1 million to install the equipment. 

However, the spokesperson for the municipality, Navin Rai, said that the slaughterhouse construction and its operation remained pending because they were waiting for the needed budget from the provincial government." We can manage the funds from the city. However, at present, the municipality is not in a condition to arrange the budget immediately." said Rai.

Veterinarian Ghatta Raj Kattel of the Directorate of Livestock and Fisheries of Biratnagar said that a conditional grant of Rs. 5 million was provided to build the slaughter house.

“The Directorate is currently engaged in a campaign against the Foot and Mouth diseases, and we cannot provide an additional grant now,” Kattel said. 

He said the local level itself could manage funds and bring the slaughterhouse into operation.

Meanwhile, in lack of maintenance, the slaughterhouse built three years ago now looks old. 

 "The current condition of the slaughterhouse is deteriorating. Windows glasses have cracked, wall paints have worn out,  the shutters have developed rust and the grills have been damaged,”  said Rai.