Goats perish due to abattoir's neglect, traders claim
MUMBAI: The death of a number of goats, transported in large numbers to the city ahead of Bakri Eid on Saturday, has placed the civic-run abattoir in Deonar under scrutiny. Traders who have brought goats from Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, claim that as many as 300 animals have perished due to pitiable conditions at the slaughterhouse, administrative negligence and lack of proper infrastructure.
As the trucks carrying the goats lined up to enter the abattoir, the animals were crammed in parked vehicles for several hours, without access to food, water or proper shelter. They died from dehydration, starvation and suffocation; others endured extreme heat before succumbing.
An estimated 1.65 lakh goats have been brought to the slaughterhouse ahead of the Bakri Eid festival this year. Traders point out that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which runs the abattoir, should have been prepared for these numbers as this is an annual ritual.
The BMC, for its part, denies the scale of the crisis, claiming that only 11 goats have perished. It attributes the deaths to untimely rains, not systemic issues.
The losses are particularly heavy for the traders as each animal costs between ₹20,000 and ₹40,000.
Wasim Khan, a goat trader from Uttar Pradesh, describes the grim situation. 'Seven of our kids died last Monday, first due to rains, then dehydration as they waited in the sun. We were transporting 200 goats from our village. When the others started bleating in fear, we took them out of the trucks to prevent more casualties. But the police objected,' he said. 'The ones that died were worth between ₹20,000 and ₹40,000 each. It's a major financial blow.'
Advocate Abid Abbas Sayyed, representing the AL Abbas Charitable Foundation, has filed a complaint with municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani. Sayyed alleged a disturbing pattern of corruption and neglect at the Deonar slaughterhouse, including extortion by personnel and abuse of animals. He demands to know why a single contractor has been awarded the contract for maintenance during Bakri Eid, for the last eight years.
'Traders have told us they were forced to wait two to three days for entry unless they paid bribes,' said Sayyed. 'Animals were kept without water or food, exacerbating their condition in the heat and rain. We have received accounts suggesting that 300 goats died due to such neglect.'
He said neglect of this kind violates Sections 3 and 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. It is also a cognisable offence under Sections 7 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Sayyed has called for a legal and departmental inquiry into the matter.
Irshad Qureshi, a member of the Al-Jamiatul Quresh Mumbai, backs these claims. 'Traders from Gujarat, UP and Rajasthan were being illegally charged ₹15,000 by private security guards allegedly hired by the BMC, just to use the road or set up temporary facilities for the goats to rest,' he alleged. 'They were told their goats would be seized if they refused to pay. At least five goats died in every vehicle due to delays and congestion.'
According to Qureshi, the delayed entry into the slaughterhouse just ten days before Eid instead of the usual 25 created a massive pile-up of vehicles with goats in them. 'There was a 4-km-long traffic jam. Goats were stuck in the heat and fell sick. Many traders who had invested ₹40,000 to ₹1 lakh in livestock faced losses.'
Dr K Pathan, general manager of the Deonar abattoir, refuted the allegations. 'There's no truth to reports of hundreds of goat deaths. On one rainy day last week, there was congestion because over 1,000 trucks had arrived instead of the expected 500. Even then, the process of unloading was managed.'
Pathan insisted that only 11 goats had died, challenging the traders and others to provide evidence. 'If there were large-scale deaths, where were the bodies disposed of,' he asked. As for the extortion claims, Pathan said complaints about fake security guards had been forwarded to the police for investigation.
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