‘Hygienic conditions, modernisation of meat trade need of the hour’

The Yogi government’s crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses in UP has brought meat trade in the state on the edge. President of All-India Jamiatul Quresh Sirajuddin Qureshi had earlier met chief minister Yogi Adityanath and plans to meet him again to discuss the problems of meat traders. Talking to Anupam Srivastava, Qureshi said the issue could be resolved if the trade was modernised and proper hygiene maintained. Excerpts:

What is your take on closure of illegal meat shops and slaughterhouses in UP?

The BJP had made it clear that it would regularise meat trade if voted to power. It was a part of their manifesto. The meat traders, however, were not prepared to change and modernise the trade. I told the CM that only 30% people in the trade were Muslims. Farmers who sell their goats, transporters who ferry meat and labourers who work in leather industry – most of them are Hindus. The total meat trade in India is worth ₹ 2.5 lakh crore and UP’s share is about ₹60,000 crore. The impact will be felt in the days to come.

What was the attitude of the CM when you met him recently?

I met Modi after he took over as the Prime Minister in 2014 and met Yogi Adityanath a few days ago. Both of them never talked against Muslims or the trade. In fact, they have promised to make the trade better by minimising the threat to people’s health. Modi had said if meat selling points had freezers, ACs and geysers and maintained hygienic condition, it would only help traders.

Why slaughterhouses weren’t shut down during SP regime?

Even Mulayam Singh Yadav was averse to giving licence to a slaughterhouse if the surroundings were unclean. When I showed him a documentary on modern slaughterhouses, he agreed to grant licence on the condition that proper hygiene would be maintained and NGT guidelines followed. As all government-owned slaughterhouses come under municipal bodies, it is their responsibility to modernise them. Meat sellers should ensure they follow the NGT guidelines.

What support do you want from the govt?

Some facilities should be extended to us. If we do not purchase livestock from farmers, why will they keep the cattle? I will urge the CM to provide soft loans for renovation for meat shops.

You are against cow slaughter, advocating that Qureshis should run ‘gaushalas’. Is it feasible ?

I proposed that the Qureshis should manage ‘gaushalas’ and it got a huge response . I will forward the proposal to the chief minister and seek permission from him. We will welcome observers who can see how well we can keep the cows and how much we respect the feelings of our Hindu brothers.