The district supplies a lot of goats, buffaloes and chicken to major cities of the country, according to the chief of the office Dr Krishnakant Neupane. However, there has been no effort here to organize the market.
Apart from producing goats, buffaloes and chicken, the district imports these items from neighboring India, which makes it all the more important to organize the market and conduct checks on meat items along the border, he added.
Every day, 2,058 kg of mutton, 1,000 kg of chicken, 2,367 kg of buff meat and 2,033 kg pork is sold in the market here, of which a major chunk reaches to other cities.
The construction of a slaughterhouse that was started by the municipality a year ago in Gulariya is yet to be completed in the lack of funds, according to Mukunda Aryal, a municipal official.
Building the slaughterhouse will require Rs 5 million and the municipality has sent a proposal via the Livestock Services Office to the Community Livestock Development Project, according to Aryal.
Locals say the entire marketplace in Gulariya stinks as meat is sold openly in every nook and cranny. This can affect public health, according to Amar Khadka, chief of the emergency section at the district hospital.
The district headquarters alone consumes more than 1,000 kg of meat every day.
Dr Neupane said the meat sold in the markets is not protected from houseflies and even stale meat is sold. Moreover, the price is not uniform. Gurudutta Sharma, a meat seller said there is a price difference in the range of Rs 10 to Rs 50.
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