Uttar Pradesh: Meat traders end strike after meeting CM Adityanath

On the day he took over as the 21st Chief Minister of the most populous state of the country, the nameplate of the firebrand BJP leader read "Adityanath Yogi". Photo: PTI

LUCKNOW: After meeting a delegation of meat traders over closure of slaughterhouses in the state, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath instructed officials that no discrimination should be done in the name of caste and religion. The chief minister also assured delegation that serious action will be taken if any officer had acted against any legal slaughterhouse. "All delegates (meat traders) supported Chief Minister and said as citizens of India its our duty to see that nothing illegal is allowed," Siddharth Nath Singh, UP health minister, said. "The chief minister assured delegation that serious action will be taken if any officer had acted against a legal slaughterhouse," he added. In the meeting meat traders were asked to end their strike, to which they agreed. "Our meeting with CM was very successful. He assured us that licensed slaughterhouses will not be troubled," Sirajudding Qureshi, meat exporter, said. "I appeal to the protesters to return to work and start working with a proper licence, UP Govt will help you procure one," he added.

The Allahabad High Court has also sought a response from the government vis-a-vis the action against slaughter houses in the state and has slated the next hearing on the matter for April 3.

Government records suggest that Uttar Pradesh has more than 375 illegal slaughter houses while the state pollution board says there are 185 abattoirs in the state of which 140 were operating illegally. The action against shops selling meat and slaughter houses has led to a huge scarcity of meat in the state, leading to protests at many places. The situation came to such a pass earlier this week that the world famous Tunde Kebab shop in old Lucknow was forced to down shutters, a first in more than 100 years, for lack of buffalo meat. Rattled at the growing protests in the state against the action, BJP mandarins in New Delhi are learnt to have conveyed to the state government to "soften its stand" and "clarify the position" after which a meeting between Yogi Adityanath and the traders association was arranged. Meat sellers in Uttar Pradesh went on an indefinite strike on Monday against the state-wide crackdown on illegal and mechanised slaughterhouses. The crackdown on illegal abattoirs was one of the first decisions taken by Aditya Nath Yogi who took charge as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh on March 19 after the BJP swept the assembly polls. Shutting down of illegal and mechanised abattoirs and cow protection ('guraksha') was among the poll promises of the BJP. (With inputs from agencies)