Around 155 mutton traders in city may lose their licence
The licences of around 400 mutton sellers are pending with the Lucknow Municipal Corporation. Out of these, 155 are set to lose their license as their shops are located within 50 metres of religious places. As of now, the only options that seems available to them is to either shift their outlets to other places or shut shop.
However, sources from LMC said that the municipality was trying hard to come up with a workable formula for mutton traders.
Ashfaq Qureshi of All India Jamaitul Quresh said, “The main problem in the state capital is the absence of any slaughterhouse. Even if licences are renewed, where will the traders slaughter animals? If a few traders are given the licence to slaughter animals at home, then what about the rest? They will have to take the services of the others. Traders will also require certificates of veterinary doctors and the stamp of the municipality.” Meanwhile, chief veterinary officer AK Rao said that LMC will work according to the rules and the guidelines laid down for operating, transporting and processing slaughtered animals. There is an operational slaughterhouse at Kursi road. Sources said that the LMC was in talks with the company that operates it to share their facilities till the municipality came up with its own facility and carcass plant.
After the state government began its crackdown on illegal and mechanised slaughterhouses in Uttar Pradesh, mutton traders have been hit hard.
On March 22, three days after Yogi Adityanath took oath as the chief minister of UP, the state government issued orders to all divisional commissioners, district magistrates, senior police officers and municipal corporations to inspect slaughterhouses to see if they followed the norms set down by the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal.