Collapse of Natural Carcass Disposal System …
43
1. Burial: It is the most common one where a dead body is buried by digging a
hole. It must be at least two feet deep, to prevent scavengers from digging it up.
2. Burning: Burning carcasses in a pit on the site is an acceptable method of disposal
in KMC.
3. Incineration: Auxiliary fuels like propane, diesel or natural gas are used to
destruct carcasses thermally by reducing them to ash which in general are biosecure. It is a preferred method for managing small carcasses, but at KMC, large
carcasses cannot be handled using this method. Also, incineration requires a
huge expenditure of energy, compared with other disposal methods and so is not
considered as a viable economic disposal option in KMC system.
5 Plan of Actions and Results
5.1 KMC Managements
To overcome such problems, KMC has taken up a sustainable management plan
with number of steps to protect Dhapa dumping ground where animal carcasses are
brought and buried every day. Various NGOs are engaged for overall management
including manpower allocation for disposal and deployment of watchmen to intensify
vigil round the clock. Lights have been Arranged, and police posting is done with
patrolling van as well. Security has been beefed up particularly at the backside of
Dhapa to barricade outsiders’ entry including a section of local rag pickers. Electronic
surveillance is also mulled. Dump yards without incinerators are planned to have a
demarcated area where animal carcasses would be burnt (Banerjee and Dasgupta
2014). A systematic disposal technique in the form of a carcass compost plant is
going to be adopted where the animals must be skinned, and their bones have to be
removed beforehand. Panihati Municipality in first slot has got this project approval
in July 2018 for its implementation.
The scare of the rotten meat incident has led also to a different flurry of activities.
Several probe teams have been set up at different levels for their recommendations.
Also, it has been decided that there should have been surprise visits to the cold-storage
facilities.
Here, people never know the real status of the marketing of food in metro cities,
towns and even in villages as nobody cares for public health, and this particular
incident should not be isolated from the general climate of woeful lack of food
safety standards in India. So, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Eastern India
(HRAI) has advised its members to buy meat only from registered suppliers. The
health department also has issued notices to hospitals to ensure quality meat for
uses. Kolkata is very famous for its cheap and quality street food. The city has about
50,000 street food vendors who are instructed to upgrade their products as per the
standards specified by KMC to ensure their food quality approval certificates, going
to be made mandatory shortly for maintaining their business.
43
1. Burial: It is the most common one where a dead body is buried by digging a
hole. It must be at least two feet deep, to prevent scavengers from digging it up.
2. Burning: Burning carcasses in a pit on the site is an acceptable method of disposal
in KMC.
3. Incineration: Auxiliary fuels like propane, diesel or natural gas are used to
destruct carcasses thermally by reducing them to ash which in general are biosecure. It is a preferred method for managing small carcasses, but at KMC, large
carcasses cannot be handled using this method. Also, incineration requires a
huge expenditure of energy, compared with other disposal methods and so is not
considered as a viable economic disposal option in KMC system.
5 Plan of Actions and Results
5.1 KMC Managements
To overcome such problems, KMC has taken up a sustainable management plan
with number of steps to protect Dhapa dumping ground where animal carcasses are
brought and buried every day. Various NGOs are engaged for overall management
including manpower allocation for disposal and deployment of watchmen to intensify
vigil round the clock. Lights have been Arranged, and police posting is done with
patrolling van as well. Security has been beefed up particularly at the backside of
Dhapa to barricade outsiders’ entry including a section of local rag pickers. Electronic
surveillance is also mulled. Dump yards without incinerators are planned to have a
demarcated area where animal carcasses would be burnt (Banerjee and Dasgupta
2014). A systematic disposal technique in the form of a carcass compost plant is
going to be adopted where the animals must be skinned, and their bones have to be
removed beforehand. Panihati Municipality in first slot has got this project approval
in July 2018 for its implementation.
The scare of the rotten meat incident has led also to a different flurry of activities.
Several probe teams have been set up at different levels for their recommendations.
Also, it has been decided that there should have been surprise visits to the cold-storage
facilities.
Here, people never know the real status of the marketing of food in metro cities,
towns and even in villages as nobody cares for public health, and this particular
incident should not be isolated from the general climate of woeful lack of food
safety standards in India. So, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Eastern India
(HRAI) has advised its members to buy meat only from registered suppliers. The
health department also has issued notices to hospitals to ensure quality meat for
uses. Kolkata is very famous for its cheap and quality street food. The city has about
50,000 street food vendors who are instructed to upgrade their products as per the
standards specified by KMC to ensure their food quality approval certificates, going
to be made mandatory shortly for maintaining their business.