Panaji: The
beef traders in Goa have decided to go on a statewide strike and down the shutters from Saturday alleging constant harassment by cow vigilantes during transport of beef from Belagavi in
Karnataka.
"We will not import anymore beef until the government gives us assurance that the harassment stops," Quraishi
Meat Traders' Association president Manna Bepari told TOI.
"Goa Meat Complex, the government-run abattoir at Usgao, is shut for three months. Beef was being supplied from there. Our request to the government is that it should be reopened as soon as possible so that the beef eaters are not denied beef," he said.
A few may keep their shops open on Saturday morning in a bid to sell the leftover meat after which they will join the strike, traders said.
Goa consumes around 2,400kg of beef daily and with the state-run abattoir that supplied around 2,000kg daily shut, traders have been forced to import beef from Karnataka.
"It's still the peak season for tourism and the demand for beef is high. They (vigilantes) are targeting only the beef traders. We are not into slaughter business. We are traders. We buy meat in Belagavi or neighbouring areas and bring it to sell for the consumers here. What's the crime we have committed? Hens, goats and other animals are being imported into Goa but they are not looking at them," the Quraishi Meat Traders' Association president said.
On Friday, following a complaint by president of the Gau Raksha Abhiyan Hanumant Parab, police stopped a vehicle coming from Belgavi and attached beef worth Rs 10 lakh at Honda in Sattari.
"These self-styled NGOs or gau rakshaks are selectively targeting traders of beef only. Their concern for 'animal welfare' for other species is zero. They are harassing beef traders in the name of animal activism," said beef trader Hussain Khatib.
TOI had earlier reported that Goa police had confiscated around 1,300kg of beef that was allegedly being "illegally transported" from Belagavi to Goa on Christmas day. Members of an organisation called Animal Welfare Board then poured phenol on the seized beef, thus destroying the fresh meat.
"We request the government to intervene in the matter," Bepari said.
He said they are following all the proper procedures before bringing the beef into the state. "The beef we bring into Goa is examined by veterinary officers. If the meat is illegal as the vigilantes allege, then there is a process to prove the same. The meat has to be taken to FDA and tested in the laboratory to say that it is cow meat or not. But the vigilantes take action in their own hands and destroy the beef by dousing it in phenol. This is not acceptable," Bepari said.
The traders will meet in Panaji on Saturday to discuss the future course of action.
"We cannot intervene or do anything at our level. The government has to look into the matter and resolve the issue," said a Goa Meat Complex official.
