2010-06-23T01:46:00.000-07:00

Images by Kristian Bertel.

An alleyway grounded with blood!
Local residents are watching, while the district's proud working men are slaughtering animals in the many tin shacks. One of them is standing with the knife in his mouth and is posing in front of the camera. In one of the other streets of Chowk Nai Basti in Delhi, India, a young man is acting fun with a knife towards one of his colleagues. The slaughterhouses are situated side by side.

The smell is distinctive from the many pools of blood in the alley.

Slaughtered meat
The narrow streets of Chowk Nai Basti are filled with honking scooters and overcrowded vans on wheels which transport the slaughtered meat. The flies are swarming around the flesh, while pieces of fabrics are covering the modest van.

Young guy playing with his meat knife.

Simple shaks are functioning as slaughterhouses.

Concerns of slautering
Slaughtering animals on a large scale poses significant logistical problems and public health concerns, with public aversion to meat packing in many cultures influencing the location of slaughterhouses. In addition, some religions stipulate certain conditions for the slaughter of animals so that practices within slaughterhouses vary.

Scenery outside one of the slaughterhouses.

Chowk Nai Basti-work. Preparation of meat is here done on the edge
of a door frame.

Preparation
There has been criticism of the methods of preparation, herding, and killing within some slaughterhouses, and in particular of the speed with which the slaughter is sometimes conducted. Investigations by animal welfare and animal rights groups have indicated that a proportion of these animals are being skinned or gutted while apparently still alive and conscious.

Severed goat heads prepared directly on the streets, only placed on
a thin piece of cardboard.

Shadow sides of India
The photographs by the photographer are part of a series of pictures showing the shadow sides and daily life of India. Through a careful selection of images from his Indian series, the portrayal may show an inside look of the back sides and shadow sides of the country, which normally is known for its colourful and beautiful culture.

Observers laughing.

Stomachs floating out from the primitive shaks.

Meat-carrier in the narrow streets. Hygiene may here be on a
very low level. The meat is not covered and attracts flies.

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PHOTO ESSAY: Inside the Chowk Nai Basti | Images by Kristian Bertel