Meat sales in Kurnool take a hit due to Karthika Masam

KURNOOL: Sale of meat has taken a drastic hit as many people of Hindu faith have gone on a strict vegetarian diet with the commencement of the holy Karthika Masam. A worried K Narshima, a meat seller at the busy Krishna Nagar ITC Junction in Kurnool city, said the present situation is very disappointing and may drive many out of business as it will continue for four more weeks. “The demand for meat is very low even today (Sunday). As against 500 kg last Sunday, we managed to sell only 200 kg of chicken today.” 

As per the traders, 10 lakh kg of meat is sold every Sunday. However, 55 per cent of the business has crashed. Officially, around 4,000 traders have been granted licence to sell meat in the district. However, the actual figure may even be double of the figure. 

Basheer Ahmad, another trader and a member of meat store owner’s association, said Kurnool city requires an average of 1.50 lakh broilers on Sundays, which is why the day is locally called ‘chicken day’. However, the sales took a hit as a result of the Karthika Masam. “As against Rs 35,000, each meat store is now only earning Rs 5,000 on an average, including on Sundays,”  Masoom Vali, a retail seller, said.