VIJAYAWADA: Upon receiving complaints over sale of unhygienic meat, the public health department of the civic body has held raids on illegal temporary meat shops in the city on Sunday. A team of officials, led by veterinary assistant surgeon A Sridhar, conducted surprise checks at Kabela centre and found that majority of the traders here had encroached footpaths and public places and established their stalls on roadsides.
These makeshift shops were made by using wooden materials, polythene sheets and gunny sacks and were set up especially on Sundays between 7 am and 12 pm.
The officials observed that roosters and goats were slaughtered inside the shops in an unhygienic manner. The cages in which roosters were brought to shops were kept on roadside causing much inconvenience to passerby. Moreover, majority of traders indiscriminately dumped waste on the road and blood was let out into open public sewerage system resulting in growth of bacteria and viruses.
Apart from diarrhoea and typhoid, consumption of unhealthy meat might cause serious ailments like jaundice, hepatitis and even kidney failure. ‘’Health risks caused from consuming unhygienic meat and fish range from vomiting to major neurological disorders,” Dr Noor Mohammed, a general physician from city, said. Vomiting and diarrhoea are the most commonly diagnosed health issues.
Even excessive vomiting will destabilise the sodium-potassium ionic concentration in the body, leading to serious health damage, he added. ‘’We have imposed a fine of `20,000 on a trader near Kabela for selling meat in unhygienic conditions and without obtaining a D&O trade license from the civic body. Two pushcarts have also been seized,” assistant veterinary surgeon A Sridhar said. Similar raids will be conducted against the illegal meat shops and chicken stalls across the city shortly. Meat samples would be collected and sent to the laboratories for examination. Notices will be also served to all stalls, if they fail to maintain proper hygiene.
Caution!
Majority of traders at Kabela Centre indiscriminately dumped waste on the road and blood was let out into open public sewerage system resulting in growth of bacteria and viruses.