Playing with the health of residents of twin-cities

95% of meat in Rawalpindi and 70% in Islamabad being sold is either of dead or sick animals

Only 200 animals are legally being slaughtered daily in the sole slaughterhouse in Model town Rawalpindi while on the other hand, thousands of killograms of meat is available in the market from the illegal slaughterhouses and smuggled meat from other parts of the city, says Sheikh Nadeem, Meat WholeSeller Association Rawalpindi.

A large part of meat being sold in Islamabad and Rawalpindi is smuggled from other cities. The meat is reported to have of the dead, sick and illegally slaughtered animals. It is synonymous to playing with the life of residents of twin cities.

These meat is brought from various places like Jang, Sargodha, Mandi Bahauddin and others. Large number of trucks are unloaded daily near Jangi Syedan, Chungi No. 26 near motorway in the morning, which is not the meat of the healthy and legally-slaughtered animals while the practice goes unchecked and concerned authorities are seemed to be unmoved, he added while talking to INFN.

He said that the illegal business of meat is thriving in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Most of the meat which is present in the markets of the capital city is also adulterated with water by sprinkling over it in order to make it heavy and to gain higher profits. But they are unaware of the fact that it could cause many fatal diseases like Hepatitis etc.

Meat is considered the best source of protein which is useful for the healthy body but the same is hazardous if these proteins are adulterated and come from the slaughtering of dead, sick and unchecked animals.

There are lots of illegal slaughterhouses in the Rawalpindi city as well which is going unchecked for quit long. The residents of the twin cities are left at the mercy of this unhygienic meat.

He said that lots of butchers have been slaughtering animals at their own houses in unhygienic conditions. The concerned authorities despite checking the quality of meat and the slaughtering stamp on the slaughtered animal, take bribes of Rs200 per week from a single butcher. They are also ensuring that the prices of the meat products also increase at regular intervals, he explained.

The meat which is being sold at Rs330-350 here in Islamabad is purchased at Rs40-50 per Kg and as it is of the dead animals which are not slaughtered here.

The General Manger (GM)of the slaughterhouse in Rawalpindi and Islamabad refuted the allegation of selling of dead animals and meat mixed with water in the market. "We constantly raid the market and seize the butchers who are involved in this illegal business. There are butchers and smugglers who are playing with the lives of the residents by selling dead and water-mixed meat but they are less in number." he said.

This is also a worth pondering issue and needs the attention of the concerned authorities to bring out the solution for checking the standard and quality of meat on daily basis in every single shop so that the residents are averted from being getting ill from the lethal meat.

In in the whole Rawalpindi city only 200 animals are slaughtered legally the GM confirmed. Then from where the meat comes as there are thousands of shops where meat is available in abundance. Sheikh Nadeem's claim that he was ready to take the media persons to the site where the meat of dead animals is unloaded and his naming the people involved in the heineous business demands an urgent notice nd action from concerned authorities.