KM Impact:Chicken, fish dealers procure refrigerated vans, set up cold chains

Srinagar, Mar 29: Following the government order, the dressed chicken and fish dealers have procured refrigerated vans while they also claim to be establishing cold-storage facilities.
Earlier this month, the Drug and Food Control Organisation banned the sale and consumption of imported dressed chicken in the Valley till March 15, after The Kashmir Monitor exposed the unhygienic ways in which the trade was being carried out.
The dealers said that they recently procured refrigerated vans or refree vans to resume importing the dressed chicken and fish from April 10.
“We were given till March 15 to buy these vehicles. Last week only, our vehicles arrived, each costing nearly Rs 13 lakh,” Aijaz Kaloo, a dealer, said.
He said all three dealers at Chattabal, where from the chicken and fish are distributed to other markets across the Valley, were constructing their individual cold chains as well.
“All the imported chicken and fish will be kept in cold chain stores and then dispatched to the markets in these refrigerated vans. We won’t sell or even import chicken and fish till we keep in place all these facilities,” Kaloo said.
The dealers said that they met with the officials concerned and more time for completing the construction of cold chains.
Assistant Commissioner Food Safety, Hilal Ahmad Mir, informed The Kashmir Monitor that the sale and import of dressed chicken and fish stands banned in absence of required facilities by the dealers.
“It should be ensured that all these facilities are kept in place by the dealers and then only we will allow them to trade. No compromise will be done on the hygiene of food items.”
“As of now I don’t have information whether they have kept available these facilities. But once we inspect their shops, the decisions over the sale of chicken and fish will be taken,” Mir said.
Mir earlier said his only apprehension towards dressed chicken was related to the hygiene, especially when the temperature rises.
“It takes these dealers enough time to transport the chicken from New Delhi to Srinagar. So, as temperature increases, there may be chances that it will be infected if it is not transported in refrigerated vans,” he said.