Opposition BJP legislators on Wednesday staged a walk out in the assembly over sale of meat by slaughterhouses in the open, which, they said, created health hazard and environmental problems. 

BJP legislator Ajay Chandrakar drew attention of the House, through a call attention notice, towards slaughter houses running all over the state without incinerator.

Though there are provisions against it in Corporation Act, 1956 (no-23-1956) and Corporation Act, 1961 (no- 37 , 1961), meat sellers are slaughtering animals in open in Gariaband and many other places in the state, he charged.  Incinerators are also not installed in such places, they blamed.

Incinerator in Rajnandgaon is not working. This posing further threat to public health as well as the environment, Chandrakar said.

Replying to Chandrakar’s notice, the Urban Administration Minister Shiv Kumar Daharia denied the charges that slaughter houses were running without license in Gariaband and other urban areas of the state.

There are district monitoring committees, which inspects the slaughter houses time to time, the minister said. He also denied the charges that the meat was being sold in the open in public places.

There were 12 incinerators installed in the state, including in Raipur, Raigarh and Rajnandgaon, the minister said. Modernization of    Radhika Nagar slaughter house is under progress in Bhilai, he added.

The minister also denied that there was any functional slaughter house in Bilaspur district. Objecting to it, JCC (J) legislator questioned if there was no slaughter house there, from where the people of Bilaspur were getting meats.

Dissatisfied with the answer of the minister, BJP legislators walked out from the state assembly.