KOCHI: Over 3,000 large animals are culled every month at the abattoir currently functioning in an old building at Kaloor, behind the crowded private bus stand there. Though KIIFB funds have been allocated to set up a modern slaughterhouse, Kochi corporation plans to shift the same to a space with better facilities, for which the wait continues.
Since 2022, the slaughterhouse at Kaloor has been functioning on a temporary licence from the Pollution Control Board, renewed time to time. The corporation budget for 2026-27, too, proposed to set up a modern abattoir in Kochi, but plans remain at a standstill. With a court order staying the renovation of the existing slaughterhouse, the corporation is looking into the scope of shifting the facility away from the city.
“The corporation is bound to ensure a facility to slaughter animals for meat, to be consumed by the people,” Seena Gokulan, chairperson of the corporation health standing committee, told TNIE.
“The current slaughterhouse is located in the middle of the city and causes huge inconvenience to the public. We are planning to relocate the slaughterhouse, probably in Cheranelloor or somewhere else, according to land availability.”
However, a major challenge before the corporation is identifying land suitable for the same.
“When we shift the slaughterhouse to another place, chances are high for residents in that area to protest against it. Hence, a decision can be taken only after analysing all aspects,” Seena said.
Towards that end, the corporation has called for new bids to run the facility. According to the tender notification, waste management at the abattoir would be the contractors’ responsibility. “The parts that cannot be consumed are now being treated at the corporation’s solid waste management plant. The water is treated at the facility itself while the skin of the cattle is handed over to leather production companies,” the veterinary officer said.
While shifting the abattoir to a new locality, waste management is set to be a huge concern for both the corporation and the local residents.
According to officials, on weekends, on an average, 120 cattle and an equal number of goats are slaughtered at Kaloor. Being the only abattoir within the entire Kochi corporation, there is a rising demand to transform it to a facility that adheres to health and hygiene protocols.
“Running the slaughterhouse at the congested space in Kaloor is not a sustainable practice,” Aristottil M G, the Kaloor South councillor, pointed out.
“What makes it more complex is the fact that the cattle to be slaughtered here are mostly brought from other states, and hence, a location away from the city hustle will be more practical. The corporation has some land in Cheranelloor panchayat, but the local body has to agree to the project. Else, any other space, even at Brahmapuram, can be thought of. And for that, land survey has to be done.”
As of now, KIIFB has allocated a fund of `20 crore for a modern slaughterhouse in Kochi corporation. But the wait for the facility, amid a rising meat consumption, continues with no solution in sight in the near future.