Beef Supply to Resume in Goa as Traders End Strike
Beef traders were on strike for the last four days as a result of which the coastal state faced a scarcity of beef.
Representational image. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Panaji: Normal supply of beef in Goa is expected to resume from today with the traders ending their strike called to protest the harassment by cow vigilante groups.
All Goa Qureshi Meat Traders Association yesterday evening announced the withdrawal of the strike and resumption of meat supply from neighbouring Karnataka from today.
"Police have assured us that they will not allow the harassment of traders who import beef from Belagavi in Karnataka at the border," association president Manna Bepari told reporters yesterday.
"So we are withdrawing our strike and the supplies will resume from tomorrow," Bepari said.
Beef traders were on strike for the last four days as a result of which the coastal state faced a scarcity of beef.
Gau Raksha Abhiyaan, an NGO, had targeted trucks carrying beef from Karnataka, claiming that animals are slaughtered in illegal slaughterhouses across the state border.
Earlier today, former Congress MP Francis Sardinha alleged that many cow vigilantes "are sponsored by the BJP- led state government (in Goa)".
"This is because the government wants to satisfy its bosses in the RSS," Sardinha told a press conference.
Beef is a staple food in the coastal state and part of the cuisine of the minority communities, he said.
Slaughterhouses in Karnataka too had refused to supply the meat till the Goa government took steps to stop the harassment by cow vigilante groups.
According to Bepari, around 25 tonnes of beef is brought to Goa from Belagavi every day.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged that the "beef crisis" was being created to divert the attention of people from controversies like the Mahadeyi river water sharing and coal pollution.
This article went live on January tenth, two thousand eighteen, at thirty-three minutes past eleven in the morning.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
