What’s Your Beef, Then?
The recent High Court order has had a crippling effect on the functioning of the Goa Meat Complex, with its ramifications felt on thousands of people dependent on beef in their diet, besides scores of eateries and traders who are placed in a quandary. The greater surprise however is the phlegmatic attitude of the administrators who have failed to work out a mechanism to tide over the crisis despite the court lifting the ban on slaughter of animals at the GMC. The common man, at the last rung of the consumer ladder, is as usual at the receiving end, now compelled to shell out double the money for the same quantity of meat which was available just a fortnight ago!
The lifting of the ban on slaughter of animals at the abattoir comes with a rider than only animals from within the State be used for slaughter. This is akin to the Shakespearean drama where Shylock was permitted to have Antonio’s pound of flesh, but had to ensure he did so without a drop of blood being spilled. Such a paradox is pointed to by many, especially as there aren’t sufficient number of locally available animals to feed the large consumer segment. Even the few locally raised bovine creatures are unwilling to be put under the knife by their owners. So, the government must step in to ensure that the intention of the lifting of the court directive on slaughter, which ought to have alleviated the woes of the consumers, comes to pass.
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Fish is an alternative, but not a viable option for the common man who is reeling under inflationary food prices. The high cost of fish in recent months has diverted many fish eating members of the minority community to substitute a fish diet with meats due to its comparative cheaper cost and extended sustainability on the menu. In the prevailing scenario, the indifferent bystanders would respond with a no-bread-eat-cakes mentality, even arguing that meat-eaters ought to switch to a vegetarian life-style. Not that the latter is cheap either. But whatever the so-called “health benefits” of the latter, the fact is that cuisine is a deeply personal choice and that’s how it should be.
Even a week after the High Court lifting the ban on cattle slaughter at GMC albeit with stringent conditions, there is no beef in the markets, with traders complaining that as long as the ban on bringing in cattle from neighbouring states for slaughter continues, beef will continue to be a scarce commodity. So, where is the end to this imbroglio?
The genesis of the crisis emanated following a petition filed by an NGO ‘Govansh Raksha Abhiyan’ whose members one can safely assume are neither beef eaters nor animal rights activists. What, then, motivated them in filing the petition in the High Court? Or, were they linked to some ideology-based group? The people of Goa ought to know the names and background of each of the members attached to this organization and what their motivations are. Why is this group so keen to impose a ban on cattle slaughter for beef?
The government has in the past bent backwards to appease the mining lobby by offering largess to the sector despite it being held guilty of loot by commissions and committees. Why is there lack of equal empathy to those dependent on a beef diet and business, despite the fact that we have a government supported by members of the minority community? The non availability of beef has placed the Catholic community in particular in a quandary, compelling many to opt for unhealthy eating practices of the non-vegetarian kind.
The issue cannot be allowed to be dragged on. Any further delay may prompt the detractors to accuse the government of being systematically lethargic. Surely, there is a way out. Such a predicament ought not to have been allowed to occur in the first place. The BJP, which rode to power riding substantial minority votes, must not only be sensitive to its supporters but also appear to be so. The silence of the minority BJP MLAs is strange ~ unless, of course, they have been converted into vegetarian health freaks under the party’s spell!
