Meat heat looms large in Uttar Pradesh
LUCKNOW/NEW DELHI: At a time of meaty tumult, the slaughterhouses and meat shops in Uttar Pradesh are staying closed due to uncertainty over clear directives from the authorities on licences. Although traders’ associations in UP called off stir earlier this week after meeting Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, expiry of licences of some legal abattoirs on March 31 has stopped them from opening the shops.
Of around 140 illegal slaughterhouses in the state, over 100 have already been shut. Axe has also fallen on the mechanised abattoirs—all export units—on pretexts galore. No prior notice was issued to the owners, neither were they given time to complete their documents. Around nine of such plants of total 45 in the state have faced crackdown so far. The traders’ associations, including All India Meat and Live Exporters Association (AIMLEA) and All India Jamiat-ul-Quresh (AIJUQ), called their meeting with the CM reassuring and satisfactory. But they expressed their inability to come back to work till their licences are renewed.
“Licence of some meat traders had expired in 2013 and the municipal authorities did not renew them while many others had their licences expired on March 31,” AIJUQ’s state vice-president Haji Shaqeel Qureshi said. CM Yogi Adityanath, during the meeting, reassured the meat traders that the government would not let any injustice or discrimination meted out to them and his government just want to regularise the meat trade in the state in conformance of the Supreme Court ruling and National Green Tribunal rules so that these concerns don’t pose any risk to residents.
“Those running with proper documents and licence won’t be touched. Even more, mutton, chicken and egg sellers don’t have to worry,” said health minister Siddharth Nath Singh who was attended the meeting. UP, now meat-free state, is the biggest producer of meat in the country. In fact, the state contributes 60 per cent to country’s total meat production. Meat trade is `22,000 crore strong industry in UP and when combined with leather it stands to be `50,000 crore industry in UP.
Prevailing commotion in the past one month, orders are being cancelled and exporters have already suffered a loss of `4,000 crore in the past one month. According to sources, while buffalo meat production has fallen by 40 per cent, mutton production, too, has seen a 30 per cent decline. A huge workforce of over 5 lakh is engaged in UP meat industry. Small meat traders like Iqbal Qureshi are the worst hit. Qureshi, the meat trader from Chandni Chowk, who also runs a roadside Dhaba confirmed that supply is very meager and soon they need to shut the shop.
“This is like disaster for us. My restaurant does not have a big freezer store place where we can stock the goat and buffalo meat. At present, supply is meager and so is the demand, but within a month the entire meat market will be running dry, traders in UP have gone on strike and slaughter houses shut down, there is no option for us but to pull our shutter down”.
With Navratras going on, the demand for meat is low but meat market experts say the moment that ends demands and prices will skyrocket. Ghazipur, capital’s biggest meat and fish wholesale market has witnessed a 15 per cent rise in prices of mutton and buffalo meat.
Kanishk Tuteja owner of Nukkad Café believes that the meat will affect the business and the quality of food soon. “If the distributors and the whole sellers do not have enough supplies then it will obviously affect our business. At present, we have started storing meat in cold storage, but that might damage the quality of food as it will not be fresh” Tuteja said.
Three days after his swearing in ceremony, CM Adityanath issued orders for inspection of slaughterhouses. All the DMs, municipal authorities and police administration across the state were asked compile the details of illegal slaughterhouses. On their part, UP meat traders are taking the plea of laxity on the part of nodal authorities, like Municipal officers, who did not renew the licences which had expired long back. They argue that despite their applications for renewal or issuance of new licences, the authorities failed to move and let the slaughterhouses and meat shops continue without proper documents allegedly in lieu of money. The crackdown though does seem to have stunted the growth of greasy palms.