Muzaffarnagar meat sellers turn to tea business after crackdown on trade

The UP government is acting on the basis of NGT’s directive to take action against illegal slaughterhouses

Muzaffarnagar: Faced with a threat to their livelihood owing to the crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses and meat trade in the state, three meat sellers have now taken up a new occupation – brewing tea.

They abandoned their traditional occupation given the acute shortage of meat due to the large-scale closure of slaughterhouses after the Yogi Adityanath government came into power.

Importantly, all three have claimed that they had proper licences to carry out meat trade but were forced to close their shops.

One of them, Nazakat, said, “My meat shop was forcefully closed even when I had a proper licence, forced to sell tea now.”

However, it needs to be mentioned that the Uttar Pradesh has reiterated time and again that no orders have been issued to harass those who have licences to carry on meat business.

“The government will not touch those [abattoirs] which are operating as per the provisions of the law and have a valid licence. But those which are violating the orders of the National Green Tribunal, creating pollution and playing with the health of the public…all those slaughterhouses would be shut down. We have started working on it,” CM Adityanath said a few days back.

Adityanath said his newly formed government’s decision was based on NGT’s request to take action against illegal slaughterhouses. He said the green panel had been urging for action against such establishments for the past two years.

Uttar Pradesh Health Minister Siddhartha Nath Singh said the government was acting only against the illegal abattoirs.

"We are acting only against illegal abattoirs. Licensed slaughterhouses are requested to stick to the norms," he said.

"The licensed slaughter houses should comply with the norms mentioned in the licence and need not fear," he added.

"No orders have been issued to take any action against any shop selling chicken, fish or eggs. They need not fear," Singh clarified.

He directed the officials that they should not act in over-enthusiasm nor should they overstep their jurisdiction.

Citing an instance, Singh said, "One of the norms mentioned in the licence is the installation of CCTV cameras in the premises of the slaughterhouse. If this norm is not complied with, then instead of ordering the closure of the slaughterhouse, a notice may be issued to its owner, and he be instructed to take necessary remedial steps within a specific timeframe."

Singh said a propaganda is being circulated through various social media platforms (especially by those who do not agree to our ideology). "Please do not fall prey to the propaganda," he said.