Kochi Corporation’s plan to build a modern abattoir at Cheranellore has stalled after local residents began protesting the proposed facility, delaying even the preliminary land survey, according to the corporation’s health standing committee chairperson.
The project was intended to replace the existing abattoir at Kaloor, where the corporation has faced constraints related to the site’s location, land value and operating conditions. Seena Gokulan, chairperson of the standing committee for health, said the corporation had designed the project on its land at Cheranellore, but residents had opposed the construction.
The civic body had selected Cheranellore after deciding that retaining a slaughterhouse in the busy Kaloor city-centre area could contribute to traffic congestion and other operational problems. The corporation owns more than two acres in Cheranellore panchayat, and the proposed land-use arrangement was discussed with the local grama panchayat.
Under that arrangement, 50 cents of the corporation’s land was to be allotted for a playground. The remaining 1.5 acres was proposed for construction of the abattoir. The corporation has not, however, been able to move beyond the initial stage of surveying the site because of the protests.
The relocation plan is linked to a wider redevelopment proposal for the Kaloor property. The corporation had planned to demolish the existing abattoir and construct a commercial complex on the site, which is considered valuable because of its location in the city. Moving slaughter and meat-processing operations to Cheranellore was therefore intended to free the Kaloor land for a different municipal use while shifting the facility away from a congested central area.
The current Kaloor abattoir is operating with temporary approval from the pollution control board, according to the report. It also does not have modern equipment for slaughtering animals and processing meat scientifically. The proposed Cheranellore facility was meant to address those deficiencies through a new, modernised municipal abattoir.
The immediate dispute leaves the corporation facing two linked challenges: obtaining local acceptance for the Cheranellore site and maintaining operations at an ageing facility in Kaloor. The report does not specify the duration of the temporary pollution-control approval, the estimated cost of the new project, or a revised construction schedule following the protests.
Further progress will depend on the corporation’s discussions with residents and the Cheranellore grama panchayat, as well as on whether the proposed division of the land between a playground and the abattoir can proceed. For now, the corporation’s plan remains stalled at the preliminary survey stage.
