Crackdown on illegal abattoirs: Supporting Adityanath, BJP blames Akhilesh govt for UP's meat problem

The crackdown on illegal slaughter houses is aimed at making them compliant with the court guidelines, UP minister Siddharth Nath Singh said, and questioned why the Akhilesh Yadav government sat on the issue for three years.

"We are bemused to hear Akhilesh Yadav's complaint that carnivorous animals in zoos of UP are suffering because of shortage of meat. He should tell the people of the state why he failed to make slaughter houses compliant with the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal," Singh told reporters here.

The minister said the guidelines were issued in 2014.

"Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party lost power only last month. They had three years to fix the abattoirs running across the state. In that case, there would have been no reason for us to spend our energy on this matter. But they did nothing. So, the responsibility fell on our shoulders," he said.

On the crackdown affecting those employed in the meat industry, the minister said, "Slaughter houses will be allowed to resume business the moment they get due licences and make necessary improvements in their operations and waste disposal arrangements.

"Moreover, retail meat sellers have not been hit. This I say on the basis of my own observation as my Assembly constituency Allahabad (West) is home to a number of meat shops," he said.

The state Health Minister also defended the move to remove the word "Samajwadi" from the free ambulance services in the state.

"These ambulances are run as part of the National Health Mission and funds for the same are provided entirely by the Centre. It was a political gimmick on part of the previous SP government to give it such a name," he said.

Underlining his policy initiatives since taking over as the Health minister three weeks ago, Singh said, "We have decided to make all bulk purchases through centralised e-tenders which would ensure transparency and help us bargain for better prices.

"We are trying to improve conditions of all primary and community health centres across the state. Health care centres are also being sensitised about their special responsibility with regard to making the 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' a success," he added.

The strike called by meat sellers in Uttar Pradesh against the crackdown on illegal slaughter houses entered its fifth day. At a meeting of office bearers of All India Jamait-ul- Quresh held here today, it was decided that meat sellers would go to Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) for the renewal of their licences. "We were awaiting directives from the government in connection with our demands to take a final decision on the strike," organisation secretary of the Jamait Ashfaq Qureshi said.

He said as of now the strike, which began on Monday, will continue till tomorrow morning and a decision to continue it further would be taken in a meeting. "Based on our experience at the LMC office, we will hold a meeting of office bearers tomorrow and decide whether to continue with the strike or not," Qureshi said. Representatives of the agitating meat-sellers and exporters had yesterday met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath here but there was no immediate end to the deadlock. 

Qureshi said some people had gone to the LMC office to submit application forms for renewal of licences of meat shops but the officials refused to accept them, saying they do not have permission to do so. Though the strike had been going on for sometime now, the impact has not been felt much in view of the 'Navaratra', during which people in north India generally abstain from consuming non-vegetarian food.

Shops selling fish, egg and chicken were open in the state capital but there were not many buyers. Representatives of agitating meat-sellers and exporters had met the state Health Minister Siddhartha Nath Singh yesterday to arrive at a reconciliation.

The office-bearers of their associations had submitted a memorandum to the state government and wanted to meet the chief minister with their demands, which include allowing them to operate the slaughter houses as their closure was affecting their livelihood.