Himalayan News Service

Lalitpur, April 8:

Participants in an interaction on Improvement of Meat Shops, organised jointly by the Lalitpur sub-Metropolitan City and the Department of Livestock today, agreed that a lot needs to be done to make sure that consumers get hygienic meat.

Among others, they spoke of the need to keep slaughterhouses clean, import health livestock, conduct ante-mortem and post-mortem check-up and install proper storage systems.

They said though the Slaughterhouse and Meat examination Act was promulgated in 2055 and the regulation for the consumption of hygienic meat in the valley was passed in 2057, the Act cannot be implemented effectively unless improvements are made on these fronts.

Speaking at the programme, Juddha Prasad Bajracharya, programme director, Livestock Market Management Directorate, said consumers have the right to decide what king of meat they want. He said that the concerned authorities should monitor slaughterhouses and meat shops.

Ganesh Lal Khadgi, president of the Meat Retailers’ Association, said the demand for quality meat in the valley cannot be met until livestock are brought from outside. Pointing that livestock fall ill as they have to make a long and tedious journey in vehicles for over a week, he said that the government should also run firms in the valley to meet the demand for hygienic meat. Netra Prasad Dhital, general secretary, Forum for Preservation of Consumer Rights, said taking into account public health, meat shop owners should keep their shops clean.

Sthaneshwore Devkota, the CDO of Lalitpur, said the increase in the population in the valley had led to the mushrooming of meat shops.

“Everyone should work to improve the situation. Consumers need to be aware, administration should provide hassles-free services to entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurs should serve the customers honestly.”