Goa’s beef traders on Tuesday withdrew their strike after four days, shortly after they were assured protection for their beef consignments imported from Karnataka by the State police.
Speaking to The Pioneer president of the Quraishi Meat Traders Association of Goa Manna Bepari said, that beef would be available in meat stores in the State from Wednesday (January 10).
“The police have assured to give us protection from cow vigilantes, who have been harassing us and stopping our consignments of beef imported from Karnataka... Following this assurance we are withdrawing the strike,” Bepari said.
The State’s only legal abattoir, the Goa Meat Complex, a Government-run facility is currently non-functional forcing beef traders to import the red meat from the neighbouring State of Karnataka.
Beef traders in the coastal State were on strike from Saturday (January 6), alleging harassment by vigilante groups, who they allege repeatedly ‘raid’ their beef consignments imported from Karnataka, disrupting the business.
According to Bepari the beef traders lost as much as Rs 1 crore due to the strike, which spread over four days.
Beef is a staple meat for the minority community households in the State, where Christians and Muslims account for more than 30 per cent of the State’s population. Beef is also a popular part of the cuisine for tourists, six million of whom visit the State every year, including half a million foreign nationals. The State consumes around 30 tons of beef every day