Hyderabad: Butchers get themselves tested to ensure safe Bakrid

HYDERABAD: In the wake of upcoming Eid-al-Adha (Bakrid) members of the Qureshi community (butchers) have prioritised safety above all else. On Tuesday, fifty members of the community underwent rapid antigen tests for Covid-19 at the Government Unani Hospital at Charminar. More are expected to undergo tests over the coming tests in the coming days.
Butchers across areas such as Charminar, Yakutpura and Chandrayangutta have undergone RT-PCR tests. This year, authorities have decided to allow only those butchers who test negative to undertake sacrificial and meat-processing activities. Meanwhile, those who test positive will be treated as per protocol while those asymptomatic will be placed in quarantine at government centres or at home.
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has visited the hospital in Charminar to supervise tests being carried out for butchers. “With these tests, the butcher community and the people whom they might go to for a job on Eid-al-Adha will be safe,” Owaisi said. He also said that after butchers, street hawkers at Pathergatti and surrounding areas will also be tested for their safety followed by auto and taxi drivers.
The Government Unani Hospital has so far conducted 249 tests of which 27 have returned positive.