Don't shun meat from plate, stars ask people in government video post meat scare in West Bengal

KOLKATA: The West Bengal government has roped in two popular faces of the film industry here to ask people to have meat, the sale of which has taken a toll following the carcass meat scandal that surfaced in late April.

The two, Bengali film superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee and heroin Nusrat Jahan, have taken part in a 50-second video produced by the department of information and cultural affairs.

"I readily agreed to be featured in the campaign on being asked by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to dispel misgivings among people about buying meat and be careful to check its freshness before purchase," Chatterjee told PTI.

There is no logic behind shunning meat altogether by non-vegetarians, he said.

"We have asked people to be on guard against rumours and be alert while buying the product," Jahan said.

Regarding processed meat sold in packets, the two actors advocate checking the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India mark on packets and looking for the date of expiry before buying.

The footage is already being aired on certain TV channels.

The carcass meat scandal was first reported after the police arrested three persons for allegedly transporting animal carcasses obtained from a garbage dump to city restaurants.

More arrests followed and the people got scared of having meat, affecting business of thousands of people.