Even as the Municipal Corporation of Delhi decided to go ahead with its plan of shutting down the Eidgah slaughterhouse on October 22, the Halal Meat Association said that they will not move to the Ghazipur abattoir — the alternate space allotted by the government.

The association had earlier put in a plea to defer the move till Id-ul-Zuha, which was rejected by the MCD. The traders now say they will continue to slaughter the animals illegally, like the Jhatka Association.

The MCD had initially claimed that Eidgah slaughterhouse is unhygienic, where slaughtering takes place in an unhealthy manner. Supreme Court had then directed the MCD to make an alternative slaughterhouse keeping in view the future needs of Delhi.

The Ghazipur abattoir, constructed after the apex court direction, is near the Delhi-UP border in East Delhi. The abattoir stands next to a 90-feet high and 45 lakh tonne garbage mass. The road leading to the abattoir is littered with dead rats, feathers and bird droppings as several scavenger birds hover above the area.

The MCD has, meanwhile, outsourced the Ghazipur abattoir to an international meat exports company, Allanasons, for a monthly rent of Rs 50 lakh for 10 years.

“They have new machinery and it is more hygienic, so meat associations should have no problem with the move. The garbage will be slowly taken care of and meat merchants will have to do with it (the facility) as we are only following Supreme Court orders,” said Deep Mathur, spokesperson, MCD

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