The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has issued a notice to its public relations officer (PRO) for the beef gaffe that had BJP fuming on Thursday. The officer will now have to submit an explanation on how the word ‘buffalo meat’ was translated as gomaas in Hindi and Gujarati.
Veer Jijamata Bhosale Zoo, popularly known as Byculla Zoo procures around 20 to 30kg of buffalo meat for the consumption of its few carnivorous animals, including a hyena. On October 9, Byculla Zoo it had published an advertisement in several newspapers, including regional ones, inviting bids for supplying buffalo meat. In a Hindi and a Gujarati newspaper, the English word ‘buffalo meat’ was translated as gomaas (cow meat).
A BJP leader in the BMC, Manoj Kotak, wrote to the municipal commissioner on Thursday, asking him to revoke this tender process. “The government has banned cow meat in the State and if the authorities are calling for tenders for cow meat that is illegal. These tenders should be scrapped and action should be taken against the officer who made this mistake,” Mr. Kotak said in his letter.
However, the zoo administration made it clear that the advertisement was for buffalo and not cow meat. “We had given an ad in both Marathi and English. We used the word ‘beef’ in English and mhashiche maas in Marathi. There seems to have been an error in translation,” Zoo director Sanjay Tripathi had said on Thursday.
BMC has now issued a notice to PRO Vijay Khabale Patil, asking for an explanation. “This is a very serious matter. Everyone knows cow meat is banned. The officer must explain who gave the wrong translation. If he is at fault, appropriate action will be taken,” said a senior civic officer.
Maharashtra banned the sale and consumption of cow beef since 2015 and a violation of the law can lead to a fine of ₹10,000 and upto five years in jail. However, the consumption of water buffaloes is legal.