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Allahabad High Court Pulls up LMC Over Licence Renewal of Meat Shops

Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday sought a reply from the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) by April 3 about renewal of licenses of meat shops in the state capital.

The Lucknow bench of the court asked why the LMC had not renewed the licenses of meat shops, which expired in 2014.

A division bench of justices Amreshwar Pratap Sahi and Sanjay Harkauli gave the order on an application moved in a writ petition of 2015 filed by Shahabuddin and many other meat sellers.

Meanwhile, meat sellers across Uttar Pradesh would go on an indefinite strike from Monday against the crackdown on illegal and mechanised slaughterhouses.

Kotla market near Meerut’s iconic Ghantaghar is almost unrecognisable. On any weekend day, the market would be flooded by customers, both Hindu and Muslims, milling around the 25 shops in the area to buy chicken and mutton. This Sunday, however, the market bore a deserted look. A few boys sat idly on the side of the streets and curtains were drawn over the shops.

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As Markets Empty, Chaos and Panic Grip Uttar Pradesh Meat Sellers

A man peaked out from behind a green curtain and called out, “Janaab, chicken chahiye kya? (Sir, do you want chicken?)” When asked if buffalo meat was available, he said, “Poore Meerut mein bade ka meat kahin nahi milega (You won’t find buffalo meat anywhere in Meerut).”

When asked why he was operating from behind a curtain, the shopkeeper said, “We have been asked by the Nagar Nigam (Meerut Municipal Corporation) to draw curtains over our shop and discretely continue our work. We have a licence to sell chicken and mutton but it is expiring at by end of March. We don’t know what will happen once the licence expires. The administration is in no mood to renew our licence.”

In all, there are 4,000 such meat shops in and around Meerut city. According to officials, only around 250 of these have valid licences and these are set to expire soon. While most shops have been “sealed”, many have decided to shut on their own. This is either due to a fear of persecution or simply due to a lack of supply.

Fish vendors were also claimed to have resolved to join the stir which has seen non-vegetarian delicacies go off the menu in several parts of the state.

“We have decided to intensify our strike from tomorrow. All shops will remain closed. Fish sellers too have joined us and are extending support to us,” Lucknow Bakra Gosht Vypar Mandal office bearer Mubeen Qureshi said.

He said, in the wake of the crackdown, there was no question of the strike being called off anytime soon.

“It will go on indefinitely,” he said.

Due to the strike, non-vegetarian food outlets, including the famous Tunday and Rahim’s have shifted to mutton and chicken dishes after buffalo meat became scarce.

First Published: March 28, 2017, 9:49 AM IST