Illegal meat shops run sans check

Patiala, June 9

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A large number of meat sellers are running illegal shops/kiosks near the city bus stand, internal city markets and near railway crossing no. 22. There are only 34 registered meat shops in the city under the jurisdiction of the Patiala Municipal Corporation said the MC in its reply to an RTI query.

The city, with a population of five lakh, has only one MC-run slaughterhouse near Lakkar Mandi. The MC said 34 shops (28 for goats and six for pigs) are registered with the MC office. A shopkeeper said: “We are tasked with managing animal waste on our own. Most of the waste is taken away by people involved in fisheries and related professions for feed. We do not dump the waste in an unregulated way.”

Municipal Commissioner Aaditya Uppal said: “We will send notices to all shopkeepers functioning without permission in the city and direct them to register their outlets. All shopkeepers are required to manage and dispose of animal waste themselves, else they will be penalised.”