Govt to regulate slaughterhouses

KATHMANDU: In a bid to prevent the selling of unhygienic meat products through unsystematic slaughter houses, the government has finally come up with the concept of working with the meat entrepreneurs for the effective implementation of the Slaughterhouse and Meat Inspection Act 1999/2000.

Dr Babu Ram Gautam, department chief of public health department, Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), said they are working out the concept of Public-Private Partnership and seeking entrepreneurs' assistance in this regard.

"We have established two model slaughter houses at Humat and Kankaswori as first phase of implementing the act," said Gautam, adding that a month ago the entrepreneurs had formed an ad-hoc committee for the effective implementation of the Act.

Talking to The Himalayan Times, he said that one of the key challenges in implementation the Act lurks from mismanaged market and unsystematic slaughter houses. The government has allocated Rs 19 crore budget for this year for the systematic distribution of meat and the establishment of slaughter houses nationwide.

Without their (entrepreneurs) involvement, it would be futile to implement the project in an effective manner, Gautam said, adding that they are working in preventing the selling of unhygienic meat products.

The consuming of unhealthy meat could cause food poisoning and gastrointestinal diseases, which could lead to malfunctioning of liver, kidneys and brain, according to experts.

KMC has time and again asked the meat entrepreneurs for registering their businesses but to no avail. The scientific slaughtering house developed by the government is to encourage the meat entrepreneurs to follow the same, added the chief.

The slaughterhouses built at Hetuda, Thankot and Kakani are out of order due to mismanagement.