BHUBANESWAR: As open slaughtering and roadside sale of meat continues in the city, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday urged the non-veg traders to stop the practice and do their business at the designated sites.The corporation’s request to the vendors, mutton traders in particular, came ahead of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup for which the civic body has launched a series of beautification drive.
Mayor Sulochana Das, who chaired a meeting with the representatives of Bhubaneswar Non-Veg Traders Federation (mutton) wing, reportedly sought cooperation of the federation in this regard.Since, BMC with the help of Bhubaneswar Development Authority has launched a massive roadside eviction drive on major stretches to remove the ‘unauthorised’ stalls and kiosks ahead of the event, the mutton traders were requested to support the civic body in its campaign, said a BMC official.
Issues related to meat shops and sellers in all 67 wards of the city were also discussed at length in the meeting.Sources said during the meeting, meat traders raised several problems faced by them in non-veg markets at Unit-IV, Unit-III, Rasulgarh canal road, Patia, Sundarpada haat and other places across all the wards due to lack of adequate number of slaughter houses.
They demanded that modern meat markets be set up in all the 67 wards in line with the market constructed newly in Ghatikia. Members of the federation also demanded rehabilitation of over 350 mutton traders, including 23 traders at Unit-IV market at the earliest.
The members also demanded restoration of the slaughter house that has been lying defunct in Laxmisagar area for over 15 years.A review meeting on sanitation was also held at the BMC office under the chairmanship of BMC commissioner Vijay Amruta Kulange in which officials were asked to strengthen garbage collection and cleanliness work.