The Goa Meat Complex will open on Wednesday, with Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code being imposed around it to prevent any law and order situation. It is probably the first time in the history of Goa that this section of the CrPC is being imposed around the meat complex, aimed at preventing demonstrations and the gathering of four or more people. The fact that this section had to be imposed is evidence that the authorities fear there could be trouble when the complex is thrown open on August 22 for the slaughter of cattle in time for the Bakri-Eid festival. Following requests from the Muslim community that the slaughter house be readied for the festival, Panchayat Minister Mauvin Godinho had assured to get all the licences and permissions for the temporary opening of the Goa Meat Complex.
This, apparently, has not gone down well with certain sections, who have already demonstrated against the reopening of the meat complex and demanded a stop to cow slaughter. The cow vigilantes have been opposing the slaughter of cows and also the illegal transportation of cattle, claiming to have often rescued cattle heads being unlawfully taken to the Goa Meat Complex for slaughter. They say that they have no objection to the legal slaughter of cattle heads, performed after the meat complex has obtained all the necessary licences and permissions. For that, the government should therefore ensure that all permissions are in proper order before the meat complex is reopened so that there is no occasion for protest.
The fact, however, remains that cow slaughter has been banned in Goa since the 1970s and there is no cow meat sold in the State. The then Maharahstrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) introduced and passed The Goa Daman and Diu Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1978 that bans the slaughter of cows in the State, but permits the slaughter of other cattle provided they are certified by a veterinary doctor, and under certain conditions.
For the last four decades there has been no cow slaughter in the State, yet, the play of politics over the sale of beef raises its head at irregular intervals in the State. In 2013 there had been a shortage of beef after Goa Meat Complex had been temporarily banned from slaughtering animals following a high court ruling based on a petition by the Govansh Raksha Abhiyaan alleging irregularities at the complex. In March 2015 the supply of beef in the State was again hit when butchers, beef shops and stalls across Goa had downed their shutters after the Food and Drugs Administration had issued notices to shops operating without valid registrations and licences, giving them 10 days to comply with all formalities.
The manner in which the issue of beef eating and cow slaughter surfaces in the State after an interval or two is quite disturbing. A few months ago, the issue was taken to the extreme with a Sadhvi in Goa suggesting the beef eaters be hanged. Considering that about a third of the Goan population are regular consumers of beef, as are a number of the tourists who sojourn in Goa throughout the year, such statements and the opposition to slaughter needs to be curbed. Cattle slaughter is legal in the State so the question of opposition to it should not arise.
This is an example of intolerance that the tolerant Goans have been mainly quiet about, but this passivity should not be taken as a licence to continue attacking the slaughter of cattle and sale of beef in the State. This politics over beef has to end, as there are more pressing subjects that need to be addressed in the State.
