BMC Misses Deadline To Reopen Slaughterhouse, Corporation Struggles To Locate Adequate Space

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) has failed to meet the deadline for reopening the city's only slaughterhouse, originally scheduled for completion by March 2025.

The delay stems from the corporation's ongoing struggle to locate adequate space to house animals from private butchers. Amid a long-standing debate over relocating the slaughterhouse outside city limits, BMC had ultimately decided to redevelop the existing facility instead.

The revamped project being carried out under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model includes installation of modern slaughter machines and a full perimeter cover on the 2.67-acre campus. The objective is to curb unauthorised slaughtering of large animals like buffalo within city boundaries.

BMC veterinary officer Dr Satish Shrivastava said that nearly 8 to 10 private butchers are still running makeshift slaughter operations across Bhopal. These will be shut down immediately once the new municipal slaughterhouse is functional. However, reconstruction has overshot the March deadline.

Space shortage: Mayor

Mayor Malti Rai told Free Press that the slaughterhouse has been outsourced to a private firm and reconstruction work is almost complete. However, due to lack of sufficient animal storage space, BMC is scouting for an alternate site nearby. Once finalized, she said, the corporation will ban all private butchers from operating within the city.