Two days after several tribal jumped onto safety nets installed in Mantralaya against the suspension of scheduled tribe candidate appointments under PESA and inclusion of Dhangars in the ST list, former BJP legislator-Narendra Mehta has threatened to end his life by jumping off the main administration building of the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) in protest of the proposed slaughter house in Uttan.
Launching a scathing attack on arch rival and sitting legislator-Geeta Jain for her insensitivity, Mehta said, “We vehemently oppose the needles slaughterhouse in the twin-city which not only has a sizeable presence of members from the Gujarati, Jain, Brahman and North Indian communities who are deeply hurt but the region is of great religious importance due to the presence of various historic temples including- Bawan Jinalaya Jain temple and Ram Mandir.
If the decision of covertly floating tenders is not rolled back, I will jump off from the MBMC building on 10, October.” Refuting the charges as baseless and politically motivated, Jain said, “I myself am against the constriction of the slaughter house and have already intimated the municipal commissioner to cancel the unlawful tender as the reservation for the purpose is in the new development plan which is yet to be finalised. Moreover, the coastal area of Uttan is already battling stench due to the garbage dump yard and the slaughter house will add to their woes.”
The MBMC floated tenders on 3, October inviting bids for the construction of a modern slaughter house carrying an estimated price tag of around Rs.40 crore. Notably, proper slaughterhouses are mandated in municipal areas and there are several rules including- Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) licensing, regular inspections, proper waste management system and adequate infrastructure for maintaining proper hygiene.
