Illegal slaughterhouses: HMC, district police put on notice after Hyderabad residents' plea

Court ordered municipality commissioner to appear in court on March 21

KARACHI: In a petition pleading for the closure of illegal slaughterhouses that have spread to every locality in Hyderabad, the Sindh High Court put on Friday the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC) and district police on notice.

The court ordered the HMC to submit a report of actions taken so far against the operation of illegal slaughterhouses and HMC's municipal commissioner Shahid Khan to appear in court on March 21.

The order came on a petition filed by residents of Latifabad, Mehmood Qureshi, Yasir Ali and four others, through Advocate Abdul Wahid Khan. The petitioners requested the court to declare use of residential houses for slaughtering of animals as illegal and order the authorities to take action under the law.



They further prayed the SHC to also order the authorities to stop the sale of meat at unauthorised meat markets which have sprung up in Hyderabad. They complained to the court that butchers not only slaughter livestock and sell meat, but also breed their animals in residential localities.

They claimed that in March, 2014, the residents wrote an application to the HMC requesting it to take action but nothing has been done to date.

HMC built a slaughterhouse and cattle colony in the outskirts of Hyderabad during the previous local government system which ended in 2009. However, the authorities have failed to move the cattle pens and slaughterhouses out of residential areas to the cattle colony built in the outskirts of the city.