Tk 150 crore down the drain?

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) built two modern slaughterhouses to ensure hygienic animal slaughtering -- one in Old Dhaka's Kaptan Bazar and another in Hazaribagh of the Dhanmondi area. The Hazaribagh slaughterhouse has remained idle for six years since its inauguration. The Kaptan Bazar facility remains unused even though it was completed one and a half years ago. City dwellers are yet to reap any benefit from these ventures, costing around Tk 150 crore.

Residents and urban planners say these much-hyped "modern" slaughterhouses have turned into white elephants.

Urban planner Prof Adil Muhammad Khan, president of the Bangladesh Institute of Planners, told The Daily Star, "Before implementing any project, feasibility studies must be done to assess viability. DSCC did not conduct these studies for Hazaribagh and Kaptan Bazar slaughterhouses. Had it been done, such costly projects would not have remained idle or become burdens. The corporation must take responsibility."

DSCC invited tenders four times to lease out the facilities, but no firms applied. Officials said the city corporation lacks the manpower and expertise to run them. Informal approaches fell apart as well.

The Hazaribagh slaughterhouse, built at Gojmohal, cost Tk 81.19 crore. It was designed to slaughter 30 cows and 60 goats per hour for 16 hours daily. Another Tk 15 crore was later spent on imported machinery. Former mayor Mohammad Sayeed Khokon inaugurated it in 2019, though construction was incomplete. No animal has been slaughtered there since.

The Kaptan Bazar slaughterhouse, started in 2018, was delayed for years due to contractor's negligence. Completed in May 2023 at a cost of Tk 52 crore, it has also remained locked.

A recent visit found the five-storied Hazaribagh slaughterhouse shut, covered in dust, and unguarded. Just outside the Kaptan Bazar site, shops continue roadside slaughtering, with goats tied up waiting to be killed.

Local shopkeeper Rofiqul Islam said, "Butchers slaughter animals in front of their shops and clean the blood and waste themselves. If the slaughterhouse opened, it would benefit everyone."

DSCC records show the first Hazaribagh tender in December 2022 set the lease fee at Tk 8.56 crore for three years, but no bidders came. Even after lowering the fee to Tk 6.16 crore in September 2023 and floating two more tenders, no interest was shown. A new tender is being prepared for Kaptan Bazar.

A property department official, seeking anonymity, said, "Doubts over anyone ever using these slaughterhouses remain. That is why no operator has come forward despite lowering the lease fees."

DSCC chief property officer Hasiba Khan admitted their failure to find an operator. She added that the Kaptan Bazar slaughterhouse was still under the Engineering Department due to incomplete electrical work.

DSCC's health division claims the two units are fully equipped for hygienic slaughtering.

Chief health officer Dr Nishat Parveen told The Daily Star, "Our veterinary officers currently monitor slaughtering in the city to the best of their capacity. But both slaughterhouses have arrangements for hygienic processing. Once operational, more regional slaughterhouses will be built. We will also ensure that no animals are slaughtered outside once the facilities open."