A year on, uncertainty hovers over fate of slaughterhouses
KANPUR: Days after forming the government in March last year, chief minister Yogi Adityanath had announced to ban slaughterhouses in the state, a decision that sent the Rs 15000 crore industry, employing around 25 lakh people, into a tailspin.
The ban that was the part of the BJP manifesto was justified on the ground that the government crackdown was against illegal abattoirs, which contribute heavily to environmental pollution.
The meat supply in the state remained affected for two months before the government began renewing the shop licences for retail with stricter checks.
One year down the line, the government remains steadfast with the ban but it hasn’t unveiled a clear policy.
Instead the government has made it clear that it would not participate in any modernisation plan of government-run abattoirs in cities. Those dealing in meat used abattoirs to slaughter animals and sell the meat to retailers before the ban was enforced.
“In Kanpur the government had already released Rs 12 crore for the modernisation of Bakarmandi slaughter house but now, we have learnt that it will be allowed to get lapsed,” said Dilshad Qureishi, president of All India Jamiatul Qureish.
“We have filed a petition in the Allahabad high court to ensure that the money released is used; if the slaughter house is not modernised and remain closed, more three lakh people in and around Kanpur will be affected,” said Qureishi, who is the petitioner in the case. As of now, the mechanized slaughter house, which only export the buffalo meat, are supplying the meat for the retail.
Qureishi said last year they were giving 14 to 16 tonnes of meat a day but have reduced it to seven to eight tonnes a day.
“Why will they cater the domestic demand or compromise on their profits? We are totally dependent on them and the move has monopolised the trade,” he said. The retailers buy the meat from slaughterhouses in Unnao, 30 km from Kanpur, and bring it back for the sale.
“It has increased the cost of the meat also significantly,” said Parvez Akhtar Qureishi, who wants the government to come out with a clear policy. “We do not know what the policy is,” he said. The people associated with the trade insist only chicken shops are properly functional in the state.
“People into mutton business have no place left to slaughter goats; they do it or get it done in villages clandestinely to keep the business afloat,” said Mohammad Ishaq, who hasn’t got the licence renewed even after completing all the formalities six months back.
Ironically, UP is the market leader in production and export of meat in the country. While there is no record of illegal animal slaughter and the quantity of meat produced from animals butchered illegally but rough estimates suggest 140 slaughterhouses and over 50,000 meat shops don’t have permission. As per a report of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), UP is the highest producer of meat with 19.1% share, followed by Andhra Pradesh at 15.2% and West Bengal at 10.9%.