The issue of ban on sale of beef is catching up in Goa too with ban on slaughter of cow in neighboring Maharashtra and virtually non-functional Goa meat Complex. About 33 per cent of Goa’s population, and lakhs of tourists that flock to the State will be greeted with empty beef shops and ‘steak-less’ menus, as the State grapples with a major beef drought due to the ban. According to the sources “A non-functioning Goa Meat Complex, short supply of beef, and harassment from animal activists have rendered the fate of non-veg restaurants precarious, as they begin to remove beef steaks and other beef items from their menus.”
Jafar Bepari, president of Qureshi Meat Traders Association of Goa alleged that the Goa Meat Complex, that is meant to handle cattle slaughter, has been shut for almost two years now due to maintenance work. “For two years now, the GMC is said to be under ‘renovation’. How are we supposed to function without a slaughter house? Where do we get our business from?” asked Bepari. But according to the statement of Mr. Lyndon Monteiro, chairman at GMC the complex is fully functional and open for any trader to bring in cattle for slaughter. “We have everything in place from the machinery to the veterinary doctors certifying the health of the cattle and to conduct the post mortem,” Monteiro said, even as he admitted that while the complex was undergoing a renovation, services went on uninterrupted. According to Mr. Bepari the importing of meat from neighbouring Belgaum and Hubli have been atopped tt the check post by many animal activists and some non government organizations even though traders come with the necessary licences, permissions and certificates,”
Confederation of Indian Industries chairman and CEO Magsons group Kirit Maganlal, who in the past has sold up to 90 kilos of beef products a day across his outlets, said the news has come as a huge setback this season, but the State has seen a slight increase in chicken sales. “Chicken has witnessed a slight increase in sales of approximately 10 per cent. Though prices have not increased, I hope the situation sorts itself out in the near future,” he said.
Following the BAN on beef and non availability the stall owners operating in Vasco have gone on an indefinite strike from Monday. The interference from the anti-cow slaughter NGOs while importing beef even as sellers and traders have all valid documents. A beef stall owner said that this harassment by the NGOs and with the government not coming out specifically as to when the Goa Meat Complex will be operational, has forced them to go on an indefinite strike. According to traders and stall owners, earlier they used to bring cattle from across the border with doctors’ certificate to slaughter at Goa Meat Complex, as Goa did not have a large quantity of cattle, to cater to the demand. Despite having the certificate, the NGOs would forcibly release the cattle, either at the check posts or at the Goa Meat Complex, due to which they used to suffer huge loss, a beef stall owner said. He further said that they need almost 500 cattle per day to meet the demands of the beef stall owners and cold storages in Goa and this can only be procured from across the border. “If the government does not intervene and come out with a solution, then we will be forced to come on the streets along with our families and the workers, to demand justice,” added the beef stall owner.
While beef is becoming scarce in the state of Goa, other forms of meat could also be heading for a shortage if the Directorate of Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) enforces licensing norms on them. On Wednesday, Salim Veljee, director, FDA, said that practically all meat business carried out by vendors is unlicensed. The department, he said, has inspected 58 meat shops in South Goa and 19 shops in the North and inspection of the 77 stalls has revealed that all were without the food safety licence, which is mandatory under the law. In fact, even vendors operating in market complexes do not have the licence, said Veljee.
The issue of cow slaughtering is been hatching up for quite some time in form of NGOs objecting the action and now the new government is also taking the active part in the banning of beef in India. If you look at the demand of beef from Muslim and Christian community in India it is impossible to ban the same. We need the opinion of our readers on “whether beef should be banned or not in India? If not “why not” and if yes then why ?
