BBMP cooks the books; says no meat shops in JP Nagar

Basavanagudi and JP Nagar wards do not have even a single meat shop.

Not only is this statement strange, but is also untrue, said JD(S) leader Padmanabha Reddy at a press meet on Wednesday.

However, according to the information furnished by the BBMP animal husbandry joint director, Dr Pervez Ahmad Piran, there are no meat shops in the area.

Reddy alleged that due to the negligence of the animal husbandry department officials, hundreds of meat shops in the BBMP limits have taken neither a trade licence nor a health licence. This has resulted in huge revenue loss for the BBMP.

He alleged that dumping of waste on the road and drains by illegal butchers has given rise to various epidemic diseases.

Stray dog menace has also increased because of this, he said.

The state Animal Husbandry Department statistics reveal that there are 2,109 shops in its eight zones: 573 mutton stalls, 318 beef stalls, 35 pork stalls, 980 chicken shops and 203 fish shops.

It stated that the BBMP has cancelled licences for 77 shops, while 548 shops have been given licence, after imposing a fine. The BBMP claims to have collected Rs45,53,090 as tax from shops.

The BBMP claims that in Bommanahalli and Mahadevapura zones, there are  87 and 98 shops, respectively. Reddy, however, alleged that there are more.

“The statistics show that there is not a single shop in Basavanagudi and JP Nagar; one shop in Shankar Mutt ward; two shops in Kadugodi ward and Agaram ward; and three shops in CV Raman Nagar ward and Uttarahalli ward. This clearly shows that the officials are hand in glove with the shop owners. They must have definitely taken bribe,” he said.

“To my knowledge, minimum 50 shops exist in each ward and a total of 10,000 shops in the BBMP limits. But the BBMP claims that there are just 2,109 shops. The BBMP is losing more than four crore revenue from these illegal meat stalls,” he said.

He also said that the illegal mutton shops are the root cause of epidemic diseases and stray dog menace in the city.

“The shops owners will either discard the waste in the roads or dump the waste generated in the storm water drains or man holes. With easily available food in the streets, the stray dogs have increased. This has resulted in the dogs attacking the children and the elderly. Similarly, the drains are being polluted and blocked by animal waste during rains,” he said.