Lahorites eating Dead Chicken

Citizens are made to eat dead meat which is forbidden (Haram) in Islam. Citizens are unaware that the chicken dish they may eat at a big and renowned restaurant or chicken used in a bakery product may be Haram and harmful for health. Regrettably, the City District Government Lahore (CDGL) is not ready to take responsibility for stopping this horrible business.

Stink and heaps of garbage are the main features of Tollinton Market. One is sure to abandon any plan to shop for chicken there if one visits this market.

Over 300 truckloads of chicken arrive in the market everyday and 20 to 30 chickens are found dead in each truck on average. According to a rough calculation, over 1,000 ‘processed’ dead chickens are sold to hotels, restaurants, food outlets, bakeries and public.

Majority of shops established along the drain behind the Tollinton market are involved in this ugly practice. These chicken vendors have set up small water tubs. They pour boiling water in these tubs and then cut the neck of dead chickens and dip them in boiling water. Hot water enters the body of dead chickens and oozes out with blood. Later, feathers and skin are removed.

A shop keeper requesting anonymity said that shops along the open drain were illegally occupied by some people who were selling dead chickens to restaurants and hotels on a large scale.

Dr Zafar Bajwa, a general practitioner, said meat of a dead animal is very dangerous for human health as it could cause stomach and lungs diseases.

The condition of Tollinton Market is also very pathetic. Heaps of garbage, filth and chicken guts are scattered everywhere.

The Solid Waste Management Department is bound to collect chicken waste from the market but the market’s condition shows that no SWM official had visited the market for ages. Vendors are dumping chicken waste into the open drain of Jail Road and some sell chicken waste to private collectors, who later sell it to protein extracting factories. These factories process the waste, convert it into protein and sell it to poultry feed manufacturers.

Masoodullah Sheikh, Tollinton Market’s general secretary and the organiser of Chicken Shopkeepers’ Association, said animal waste was sold to factories because it could not be stored for more than a day because of its unbearable smell. He said market traders were facing a lot of problems but the government had not helped them. He admitted that a large number of shopkeepers were selling dead chickens and damaging the credibility of the market.

He said majority of 100 shopkeepers in the market sold chicken. He said almost four to five hundred truckloads of chicken arrived at the market daily and vendors did business of millions of rupees per day.

Saeed Kamboh, a chicken seller, said shopkeepers had been struggling for two years to get the open drain covered. “We have contacted a lot of officials and made videos of the open drain to show them the ugly picture but they haven’t done anything,” he said.

When contacted, District Officer (Food) Dr Masood said monitoring the sale of chicken was not his job. The scribe then contacted the district officer (livestock) who said he was on leave. Asked about the sale of dead meat at Tollinton Market, he said he was not aware of any such activity but assured he will take action very soon.

The Lahore district coordination officer said the market was raided around one month ago and several shopkeepers were fined. He said the CDGL, however, could not monitor the market on a permanent basis owing to a lack of resources. He said a new campaign against vendors selling dead chicken will begin soon.