CHANDIGARH: With the closure of slaughter houses in Uttar Pradesh (UP) after the clamp down on illegal butchering of animals in the State, the demand and prices of chicken has hiked in both Punjab and Haryana.
A supplier, requesting anonymity, said that around 350 truckloads of birds are sent to Delhi daily from Punjab and Haryana. From these, 150 trucks are sent to the Gazipur Mandi in Delhi and the rest to other places where the birds are slaughtered. Each truck carries three tones- 1500 to 1800 birds, to five tones- 2000 to 2500 birds.
“Earlier, these birds were being sent to Delhi and then from there to other parts of the country, mainly UP where they were slaughtered and then sold. Now, as the slaughter has stopped in UP these birds are slaughtered and dressed in Delhi’s Gazipur Mandi and other places, then sent to UP,’’ he says.
Another supplier said that during the nine days of Navratra, the prices of chicken comes down every year from Rs 125 per kg to Rs 100 per kg, but this time has risen to Rs 160 per kg. He says the reason for this is the slaughter ban in Uttar Pradesh, and prices are expected to further increase once navratra gets over. “Thus it has been a good season for us till now,’’ he added.
It is alleged that the slaughtering in Gazipur mandi is unauthorised as they do not have the requisite permission. Not only chicken, but supply of goat and sheep meat from Rajasthan to Delhi has increased, and so have the prices.
Around 150 trucks of these animals reach Delhi daily, with each truck carrying150 to 200 animals, which are now selling anywhere between Rs 250 to Rs 300 per kg with an increase of Rs 50 to Rs 100 per kg, said sources.
President of Poultry Farms Association of Barwala in Haryana, Darshan Singla says, “There is a shortage of 15 to 20 per cent birds. The supply of birds has not been affected due to the developments in UP.’’
There are around 2,000 poultry farms in Haryana which supply chicken, and 250 which supply eggs. While in neighboring Punjab the number of poultry farms is little higher.
As Barwala is the main hub of poultry in Haryana, around 60 per cent of poultry products from here are supplied to various parts of Uttar Pradesh, mainly Lucknow, Faizabad, Saharanpur, Varanasi, Bareilly, Azamgarh and Deoria.
“Due to closure of slaughter houses in Uttar Pradesh, the prices of MBM have gone up from Rs 24 per kg to Rs 35 per kg. This is used as a food supplement in poultry farms in both Punjab and Haryana as it is manufactured from the flesh left out in the slaughter houses,’’ said Singla.