Carcass meat racket: Environmentalist blames Bengal government

An environmentalist here on Friday blamed the state government for not implementing the Solid Waste Management Rules (SWM) that were issued in 2016 and further complicating issues like illegal meat trade.

A carcass meat racket - that was allegedly involved in collecting bodies of dead animals from dump-yards in Kolkata and adjoining suburbs and supplying the stale meat to the eateries and departmental stores after processing - was busted by the police last month.

"According to the new waste management rules issued in 2016, animal anatomical wastes that includes animal carcasses, body parts, organs, tissues, including the waste generated from animals should be directly transported for the appropriate treatment and disposal.

"It must be either buried or burnt within a specific time. But these rules are not followed here in West Bengal," environmentalist Naba Datta said.

"The state government has taken no steps for segregation of waste in the dump yards or creating sanitation landfills as recommended. As a result, the dead animals are kept to rot in these places. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation and municipalities in the districts must take actions in this regard," he pointed out.

The environmentalist also condemned the alleged act of supplying stale meat to people and said strict actions should be taken on those involved in the case.

--IANS

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