Agra, Apr 2: Amid the high drama on crackdown on illegal meat shops and slaughterhouses in Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi Adityanath government issued a long list list of dos and don’ts for the owners of the meat shops. The list which contains close to 17 rules, demands that the transportation of the meat should be done only in insulated freezer vans. Apart from this, all workers should have health certificates. The list also mentions that the meat shops should not be near religious places and vegetable markets and should comply with the FSDA guidelines.
However, the list of guidelines is found to be exhaustive by most of the meat shop owners due to which they have now decided to down their shutters permanently. Meanwhile, the government officials have said that these are not new rules and that the old ones, issued by the National Green Tribunal and the Supreme Court, have only been re-issued. The meat sellers on Saturday called off their strike which they had launched on Monday while protesting the crackdown on meat shops in Uttar Pradesh.
Below are some of the guidelines for the meat sellers in Uttar Pradesh:
– The list of rules directs the meat sellers to stay beyond a 50-metre radius of religious places and their shops should be located 100 meters away from the main gate of such places.
– No meat shop should be located near vegetable markets.
– The list forbids slaughter of any animal and poultry inside the shop. It also demands installation of Meat curtains or tinted glass to hide the meat from the eyes of the public.
– The list makes it mandatory for all people working at meat shops to obtain health certificates from government doctors. It also says that the meat should be certified by authorised veterinarians.
– In urban areas, a no-objection certificate from the circle officer and the municipal corporation will be required for obtaining licences in urban areas, along with an NOC from the food safety and drug administration (FSDA).
– Meat vendors in rural areas will have to get an NOC from the gram panchayat, circle officer and FSDA.
– No meat vendor should slaughter any ill, milch or pregnant animal and they should get their premises whitewashed every six months.
– Meat shops must be equipped with proper waste disposal arrangements and should maintain a complete records of all meat purchased from slaughterhouses.
– All the knives and other implements, used at the meat shop, must be made of steel.
– Meat can only be transported in insulated freezer vehicles from slaughterhouses. The storage of the meat should be done in refrigerators with transparent doors.
– Meat shops should be equipped with geysers.
The new guidelines by the Uttar Pradesh government are however, being highly criticised by the meat sellers in the state with many of them demanding a single-window system as there will a requirement of several NOCs. The Times of India quoted a meat vendor demanding fresh license while he claimed that the crackdown has already made them face huge losses. On the other hand, some vendors also asserted that the new guidelines will push many out of business.
BJP firebrand Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government had initiated a crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses and meat shops in the state following which the meat sellers went on a strike on Monday. On Wednesday, the shop owners met CM Adityanath to discuss the future course as the industry as well as the state were suffering huge losses because of the shutting down of the shops.
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