Festive look at Deonar Mandi as Eid al-Adha celebrated today

Ahead of the festivities, when the peak footfall soars to 1.5 lakh per day, Deonar abattoir wore a lively look on Sunday as thousands of families and traders flocked the facility, which is also Asia’s largest slaughterhouse.

Alongside sale of the animals which spans 15 days, the Deonar facility also witnesses animal slaughter within the premises. Following prayers, the sacrificial slaughter of buffaloes, which is only permitted within the Deonar facility, is undertaken for a period of three days. For the goats, meanwhile, the civic body permits designated spots for slaughter at various locations.

According to officials, last year, 14,000 to 15,000 buffaloes were slaughtered over a three-day period.

In a bid to improve crowd management during the rituals, the BMC–in a first–introduced a facility enabling people to book slots and select timings for carrying out the slaughter of buffaloes. “The basic idea was to enable better management of the crowd and ensure smooth operations. However, only 5 slots have been booked so far. Since this is the first year, it is likely that few people were aware of the facility. Even so, we are hoping that more people will avail the facility from Monday when the festivities commence,” said a senior official from BMC.

In light of last year’s figures, civic officials maintained that over 10,000 buffaloes are likely to be slaughtered this year as well.

Over two weeks ahead of Eid al-Adha, nearly 2,000 traders from across the country start pouring into the civic abattoir to undertake trade. As per civic estimates, at least 1.85 lakh goats as well as close to 15,000 – 20,000 buffaloes are also brought into the abattoir during the 15-day period. For sheltering the animals, a temporary facility sprawling over 77,850 square metres has been set up within the abattoir compound while two health facilities have also been provided to aid their treatment.

In the 15-day period, over 7,500 metric tonnes of waste is generated at Deonar abattoir. Seeking to clean the waste as well as clear the dead animals, the civic body has pressed 300 workers, five pick-up vans, two JCBs as well as four dumpers into service, alongside 1,000 civic workers from across multiple departments to ensure smooth operations.