The city Corporation is making yet another attempt to inject some life into its now-defunct slaughterhouse at Kunnukuzhy by calling for an Expression of Interest (EoI) from companies to modernise the abattoir, and turn it into a value-added-product-manufacturing venture.
The EoI, on which a decision was taken after a meeting between District Collector Biju Prabhakar and Mayor K. Chandrika here on Sunday, is to set up an effluent treatment plant, bio-fertilizer unit, biogas plant, and meat processing unit at the abattoir, with value-added products, including pet food, fish meal and fertilizers, intended from slaughter waste, mostly the leftovers after the edible portions are removed.
The abattoir was closed down early last year.
The project was presented during Partner Kerala, an investors’ meet for local bodies in the State, in Kochi recently, but found no takers. This led to discussions between Mr. Prabhakar, who had originally mooted the project when he was the Food Safety Commissioner, and Ms. Chandrika, and to the decision to call for an EoI.
Mini-incineratorsThe meeting between the two saw instructions being issued to Corporation officials to prepare proposals for two mini-incinerators on the lines of the one at the Secretariat.
“We are looking at trying out on an experimental basis two mini-incinerators, one at Shanti Kavadam and the other near the Palayam market, to deal mainly with trash from shops, offices, and the crematorium which will have a lot of decayed flowers, wreaths etc. to deal with. They will be based on the one at the Secretariat,” Ms. Chandrika told The Hindu .
As for the abattoir modernisation proposal, a team from the Corporation will visit similar ventures, albeit on a much larger scale, in Wayanad and Thrissur soon to decide the final shape for the project, which is likely to be taken up on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis, with the cost estimated to be around Rs.15 crore. Efforts will be made to garner funds from Union Ministries, including the Ministry for Food Processing Industries, Ms. Chandrika said.
Corporation veterinary surgeon A.S. Biju Lal said the leftovers from the abattoir were termed ‘waste’ only because they were not used, when in reality, these could be processed into products that currently commanded high prices in the market.
“We are looking at gathering the leftovers, cooking them at high pressure, and processing them into pet food with additives such as vitamins. Only about 33 per cent of the animal after being slaughtered is used for edible purposes. The rest, including internal organs, skin etc., is now disposed of, while these can actually become value-added products,” Dr. Lal said.
