DIANA FERNANDES
PANJIM: About 33 per cent of Goa’s population, and lakhs of tourists that flock to the State this tourist season, will be greeted with empty beef shops and ‘steak-less’ menus, as the State grapples with a major beef drought due to the ban on slaughter across neighbouring Maharashtra and almost no slaughter taking place at the Goa Meat Complex abattoir.
A non-functioning Goa Meat Complex, short supply of beef, and harassment from animal activists have rendered the fate of non-veg restaurants precarious, as they begin to remove beef steaks and other beef items from their menus.
Jafar Bepari, president of Qureshi Meat Traders Association of Goa alleged that the Goa Meat Complex, that is meant to handle cattle slaughter, has been shut for almost two years now due to maintenance work. “For two years now, the GMC is said to be under ‘renovation’. How are we supposed to function without a slaughter house? Where do we get our business from?” asked Bepari.
However, Lyndon Monteiro, chairman at GMC differed and claimed the complex is fully functional and open for any trader to bring in cattle for slaughter. “We have everything in place from the machinery to the veterinary doctors certifying the health of the cattle and to conduct the post mortem,” Monteiro said, even as he admitted that while the complex was undergoing a renovation, services went on uninterrupted.
Bepari also put the acute shortage to problems of importing meat from neighbouring Belgaum and Hubli. “At the check post, many animal activists and some non government organizations stop the entry of cut beef even though traders come with the necessary licences, permissions and certificates,” he said.
He said there have even been instances where phenyl is thrown on the meat before the inspections to ruin the meat.
Vernon Lobo, president of the All Goa Cold Storage Association agreed with Bepari explaining the way it worked. “At around 3.30 or 4 am, trucks carrying cut meat with proper licences and permissions reach the check posts. Terming it as cruelty to animals, animal activists and other groups against cow slaughter stop the entry many times even throwing phenyl on the meat. In the past 15 days we’ve had to return 400 to 500 kilos of meat,” Lobo said.
This behavior has forced local butchers to stop importing beef altogether, as importers are reluctant to send consignments for fear of them returning spoilt. “We usually work with undercut meat for our steaks, and since only small consignments are coming to the State, it becomes difficult for us to work with it. We can’t serve our customers if we don’t have enough meat coming in,” said Candolim based Horizon Grill owner Karlton D’Souza.
Confederation of Indian Industries chairman and CEO Magsons group Kirit Maganlal, who in the past has sold up to 90 kilos of beef products a day across his outlets, said the news has come as a huge setback this season, but the State has seen a slight increase in chicken sales. “Chicken has witnessed a slight increase in sales of approximately 10 per cent. Though prices have not increased, I hope the situation sorts itself out in the near future,” he said.
