The Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) will start the procedure of inspecting chicken and fish shops functioning within the municipal periphery from Monday.
The team formed under the supervision of RMC officer (Health) will visit the shops of all those desired applicants who have applied for the provisional licenes under the new by-laws of Municipal license (For sale of flesh, fish or poultry) Regulation, 2017.
So far, the civic body has received 40 applications for getting the provisional licenses from both chicken and fish seller contenders. The process of issuing the provisional license to the shop owners will continue under the set new guidelines with no further change in any formats. “At present, we are issuing the provisional licenses only to the applicants who will sale chicken and fish in a concrete setups following other guidelines of the new Act. Inspection team that comprises member from RMC engineering wing as well will scrutinise the details of the traders applied for provisional licenses before processing the documents ahead,” said, RMC officer (Health), Kiran Kumari.
“Field visit by officer-in-charges will help to put a hold on all the illegal merchants flaunting all new approved norms recklessly. Two members from heath section team including two members from engineering division will inspect the shop before certifying them as a legal seller holding a municipal licence,” added Kumari.
In contrast, in the absence of proper and certified abattoirs, the license for selling red meats to consumers is yet to be initiated by the Municipal Corporation. Several members of the Meat Seller Associations opined that despite making repeated attempts to convince the civic body officials to make functional at least two-three old slaughter houses set within the State capital, no serious concern is ever shown regarding this, mentioned, the president of Meat Seller Association Md Nayeem Alam.
“We have been protesting for our rights and for getting provisional licenses since April first week but we have been just told that until the slaughter house at Kanke is not made become fully functional, the meat shop owners will not be issued licenses. Since March 25, our shops have been closed and we do not have any idea that when exactly, the abattoir at Kanke road will be made operational,” Aalm added.
Notably, there are 250 meat shops in Ranchi according to the Meat Seller Association record. Members of the association have even claimed that the news norms should be made more flexible as conditions like marking of the slaughtered animals as a symbol of health mark, selling packaged meats only, certification from veterinary doctors will not prevail for long time as most of the consumers in the tribal regions prefer buying meats that are slaughtered and sold out on the spots.
However, RMC officer (Health) has clearly stated that no further amendment will be made in the Act and all the poultry merchants have to abide by the laws. “We are in the process of opening the slaughter house at Kanke, as soon as the documentation work gets complete, the slaughter house at Kanke will be made operation but until then RMC will not start issuing the provisional licence for the sale of red meats in city,” added Kumari.