Now, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh clamp down on illegal slaughterhouses

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Aditya Nath Yogi began taking action against illegal slaughterhouses as soon as he took the oath.

New Delhi: Following the Uttar Pradesh government's action against illegal slaughterhouses, four more Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states- Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh - on Tuesday began its crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses.

The first state to follow the UP's action was Jharkhand.

Three meat shops were sealed in Haridwar, 11 asked to shut down in Raipur and one in Indore.

According to a report in The Times of India, approximately 4,000 illegal shops face closure in Jaipur. The Jaipur Municipal Corporation has announced clamping down on such shops and slaughterhouses from April. However, meat sellers have claimed that the JMC has not renewed or issued new licenses for any shops since March 31, 2016. They further alleged that that 950 of these 4,000 shops were authorised,

However, the daily quoted a JMC official as saying that municipal body had okayed a proposal for hiking the licence fee from Rs 10 to Rs 1,000. However, the gazette notification had not been issued till date, which is why licences could not be renewed.

On Monday, the Jharkhand government had asked closure of illegal abattoirs within 72 hours.

The action against illegal slaughterhouses in the five states were inspired by the step taken by the newly-appointed Uttar Pradesh government led by Yogi Adityanath.

Chief Minister Aditya Nath Yogi began taking action against illegal slaughterhouses as soon as he took the oath.

Meat sellers in the sprawling Uttar Pradesh have, however, said the ban on slaughterhouses has caused a shortage in meat supply across the state, as thousands have been forced to shut their shops for an indefinite period in an air of uncertainty over the state government policy.

There are no records of illegal slaughterhouses available officially. However, according to industry insiders, there could be an estimated 140 abattoirs and over 50,000 meat shops that don't have permission to operate.

The ban has caused serious concerns about the meat industry in Uttar Pradesh, which according to APEDA, an export regulator for agricultural and processed food products, is the highest producer of meat with 19.1 percent share of the national figure, followed by Andhra Pradesh at 15.2 percent and West Bengal at 10.9 percent.

(With Agency inputs)