New Delhi : Not just buffalo meat, Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow is fast heading towards a non-vegetarian crisis as entire chicken, goat meat and egg markets have begun shutting down.
While more than 80% markets selling non-vegetarian items have already downed shutters on Friday, various traders’ associations have declared a strike from Saturday. Under the circumstances, vegetable prices, which were on the decline for the last one week, are likely to register a steep hike.
“The indefinite strike begins tomorrow (Saturday), but most of the shops have shut down today (Friday). We have advised the sellers who have stocks in their shops to sell till tonight and then shut shops from Saturday morning,” said Md Rizwan Siddiqui, Lucknow Murga Mandi Samiti member. Siddiqui’s shop in Azad Market in Indira Nagar had all its shutters down. All the nearby shops too are closed and the cages to keep the birds were all empty.
Ever since assuming power in Uttar Pradesh the Yogi Adityanath regime has ordered closure of illegal slaughterhouses and imposed a ban on cow smuggling. In many areas, shops selling meat and even fish have been set ablaze.
What would be the strike like? Roshan Qureshi said: “Expect no chicken, no mutton, no eggs. I have heard that even fish markets have been asked to close down.” Meat, chicken, egg sellers are going on strike in solidarity with those whose businesses are getting hit due to the crackdown on buffalo meat shops.
The strike is also going to hit the hotels’ and restaurants’ non-vegetarian menu as the supply chain has been broken. “The truck that replenishes my stock did not turn up,” said Mohammed Shakeel, who runs his business from Qaiserbagh market in Lucknow and supplies chicken to some of the top hotels and restaurants in the state capital.
