PANAJI: The ripple effects of the shortage of beef supply from Belagavi has trickled down to the cold meat industry in Goa, which is looking at empty shelves. Beef shops, which used to get stock from Karnataka, have been shut since last Friday.
“We get our beef supply from Hubballi and Belagavi. Now, with the ban on slaughter as well as transport, Karnataka has gone two steps further than Maharashtra. None of the suppliers there want to take a risk because the Karnataka government has given permission to sub-inspectors to raid and confiscate the meat. We therefore, don’t have any supply coming in,” All Goa Cold Storage Owners’ Association president Vernon Lobo said.
With Christmas and New Year fast approaching, the cold meat traders are hopeful that the government abattoir, Goa meat complex, will be restarted. However, sourcing live cattle for slaughter is another Herculean task altogether.
Lobo said they have made a verbal request to chief minister Pramod Sawant to intervene in the matter.
Sawant said he has taken up the matter with officials. “I have spoken to the director of animal husbandry and veterinary services and he will come up with a solution,” Sawant said.
Sources from the Goa meat complex said they are exploring the possibility of opening the abattoir for a while to ensure beef supply for the holiday season.
“We may source the animals from Belagavi or any neighbouring district for this. Buffaloes above the age of 13 are permitted for slaughter. We may procure them for the Christmas-New Year period. The matter is being looked into by the chief minister,” sources said.
After the state’s meat traders’ association submitted a memorandum on Tuesday seeking his intervention in the matter, Sawant on Wednesday had assured to ensure that the supply of beef is restored.
“The chief minister must talk to the Karnataka government to grant permission to transport live cattle to Goa. We have spoken to him and he has promised a solution. If he cannot talk to his counterparts in another state and get things done, then he won’t be able to start the abattoir,” Lobo said.