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Our Correspondent
Kohima, Aug. (EMN): At least six new rural slaughterhouses spread across six districts of Nagaland are all set for inauguration, the department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services (AH&VS) has informed.
The Deputy Director of AH&VS department, Dr. Ilang Iheilung, told Eastern Mirror that construction of the abattoirs located in Niuland, Tseminyu, Pfutsero, Tizit, Asukuto and Kiphire, has been completed and ready to provide hygienic meat to the rural population.
The official said that the department had set up the six rural slaughterhouses under the National Livestock Mission (NLM) on public-private partnership (PPP) mode with Centre-state funding pattern of 75:25.
Though the construction, installation and other aspects are completed, he said the abattoirs could not be inaugurated on time due to the COVID pandemic and that the facilities are yet to be handed over to the district administration and the rural local bodies.
Once the slaughterhouses are made functional, it will cater to at least some population of rural areas, he said.
Meanwhile, the official also pointed out that there is no more provision for construction of slaughterhouses under the Ministry of Animal Husbandry as the Government of India has come out with revised guidelines.
Nagaland still being a consumer state in terms of meat, Iheilung said the state is focusing on farmers and animal husbandry like backyard piggery, poultry, rabbitry and goatery that are funded by the Government of India.
While maintaining that the department is emphasising on self-sufficiency in meat production, said meat supply is a problem at the moment as the state has been hit hard by the outbreak of African swine fever (ASF), which has affected about half of the districts in Nagaland.
Informing that there is no cure for the disease once the animals are affected, he said the policy of the government of India is to cull all the animals in the affected zone within 1 km radius.
He, however, pointed out that the officials encounter challenge when they try to initiate such preventive measures in affected zones. He said that people butcher and sell the animals before the department gets into action, thus causing further spread of the disease.
While the abattoir in Dimapur has been functional for some years now, it is learned that two more are coming up in Mokokchung and Kohima. Funded by the Ministry of Food Processing and Industries, the projects are still under construction.
On this, Administrator of Kohima Municipal Council, Lanusenla Longkumer told this newspaper that the construction of the slaughterhouse at Seithogei, Bypass Kohima, has been going on for over a decade now.
She also informed that a similar project in Mokokchung is being implemented by the Mokokchung Municipal Council.
The president of Nagaland Voluntary Consumers’ Organisation (NVCO), Kezhokhoto Savi, told this newspaper that the central government had sent directives to the state government to set up slaughterhouses in the state.
Savi said that once a slaughterhouse is set up, a competent veterinary doctor is to be assigned to physically check all live animals entering the facility to ensure that the animals are fit for consumption. The doctor also has to ensure that the meat is clean and hygienic in various compartments of the slaughter house and then only send to the retailer for sale, he added.
Alleging that the state government is yet to take any initiative on this, he said that is why NVCO is asking the government to take up construction of the facilities.
He maintained that if some wealthy private players construct abattoirs, then commercialisation would creep in, including hike in the price of meat in the retail market, which would ultimate affect the consumers.
Considering this, he said the state government should handle slaughterhouses to ensure that there is no adverse effect in the price of meat.
“The government also should take initiative, which is good for every citizen,” Savi said, adding that the decision makers and people at the top consume meat and purchasing it at the same rate as the common people.
“Sooner or later, slaughterhouses should be set up in the state in phase-wise manner,” he said.
The government also should be people-centric and allot budget for pressing needs and not spend too much on entertainment, he added.