Meat crisis hits Lucknow, UP: After beef, mutton goes off the menu

After the denial of renewal of licences by the Lucknow Municipal Authority, meat shops in Lucknow, UP, are forced to down their shutters.

Lucknow, April 18: Soon, enjoying non-vegetarian delicacies (read meat) will be a thing of the past in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, known for its mouthwatering kebabs and biryani.

The meat-lovers of Lucknow need to soon change their taste buds, as the Lucknow Municipal Authority has denied renewal of licences to meat shops across the city.

According to a News18 report, around 147 of the 600 meat shops in Lucknow had licences to sell meat, but as their licences expired on April 15, they are now illegal and cannot sell meat anymore. There was a 15-day grace period given to the meat vendors after their licences expired on March 31.

Last month, the newly formed Bharatiya Janata Party government under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath initiated a crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses which led to the closure of several meat shops.

A protest was hosted in the city by meat vendors against the municipal corporation's latest decision. The protesters also demanded immediate renewal of their licences as it was an attack on their livelihood.

The meat vendors recently requested financial assistance from the state government in order to upgrade their shops as per the norms laid down by the Pollution Control Board and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.

"This is our source of income like many other vendors. The government is not listening to our problems, so we had to protest," said secretary of the Lucknow Bakri Murga Gosht Vyapar Mandal, Abdul Hamid.

He added that those involved in meat selling business have been hit hard in recent times. The meat sellers asked the state government to provide them with alternative measures to help them earn money and run their households.

Since the crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses, Lucknow's famous eatery, Tunday Kababi, stopped selling buffalo kebabs. Till recently, they were selling only mutton and chicken dishes. Now, the owners of the eatery fear that they have to shut down their shops as there won't be any meat in the city to prepare non-vegetarian dishes.

OneIndia News