The old slaughterhouse. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Aug. 20: The municipal corporation is in a quandary over demolishing the old slaughterhouse-cum-sale centre near the office of the director of industries behind Barabati Stadium by relocating it to an “appropriate place”.

Orissa High Court had issued the demolition order after receiving complaints that the old slaughterhouse was causing immense air and water pollution in the area. “Passing through the area is a nauseating experience due to the foul smell,” said Saumendra Mishra, 54, a regular commuter.

The court expected the municipal authorities to complete the demolition and relocation process by the end of July. But on July 26, the civic authorities pleaded that no alternative land had been identified for the purpose. The court has now fixed September end as the new deadline.

In an affidavit, municipal commissioner Nihar Ranjan Mohapatra had said that animals were not being slaughtered at the old slaughterhouse but at various places such as Odia Bazar, Baunsagali, Diwan Bazar and Mahamadia Bazar. After slaughter, beef is transported to the slaughterhouse by trolleys and after it is sold, the bones are stored there for two or three weeks and then transported to Calcutta. The stench is caused due to the long period of storage, the affidavit said.

“It has been decided to demolish the old slaughterhouse and an alternative vending place is to be provided to the vendors for selling beef. After identification of the site, the sale centre behind Barabati Stadium shall be demolished,” said Mohapatra.

“The district administration has already provided land at Bharandi under the Tangi-Choudwar tehsil to facilitate implementation of the high court order by the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC),” Cuttack collector Girish S.N. told The Telegraph today.

CMC officials said one acre and 30 decimals had been provided at Bharandi on the northern fringe of the city and demarcation of the allotted land is in progress. More than four years ago, the civic body had started scouting for a suitable land for a slaughterhouse-cum-sale centre in the city. Accordingly, the district administration provided one acre of land in October 2009 at Kantilo in Matagajpur on the eastern fringe of the city.

But the civic administration had to abandon the project at the allocated land owing to stiff opposition from the people of the area. Subsequently, a 50-decimal land was identified at Brajabiharipur on the western fringe of the city in December 2010. But local inhabitants objected to the slaughtering of big animals in the area.