The UP government says it has launched a crack down on illegal buffalo slaughterhouses.
A pending permit to draw groundwater: the reason why ALM Industries, a licensed buffalo slaughterhouse in Western UP's Saharanpur was apparently sealed on Thursday as part the state's crackdown on illegal abattoirs after the BJP government took charge last week.
Three hours away, in Meerut, Al Aqsa and Al Yasir meat processing plants say they were closed down a day before for not having an approved map by the Meerut Development Authority. In Bijnor, another legal abattoir, Omar International was raided and shut on the same day by the officials as they allegedly couldn't produce renewed factory license.
According to the national meat exporters' union, in each case, the modus operandi was similar: a minor technical fault, or an issue with licenses, was used to shut down entire plants immediately. "I have been told that a factory is being shut because there was one dysfunctional camera," said a tense Mr Fauzan Alawi, a member of the meat exporters' union. Mr Alawi has been in Lucknow for the past one week to meet new Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and ask him about the future of the industry.
Slaughterhouses in UP say they are being unfairly targeted.
"In all cases no notices were issued. No time was given to reply. Even if a person is accused of murder, he is given a chance to prove his innocence. Whereas, first time in the history of independent India, an inspection team is going to plants with locks and seals obviously without following norms of notice, reply and giving chance to the industry to defend itself," the All India Meat and Livestock Exporters' Union said in a statement to NDTV.
India is the largest buffalo meat exporter in the world. The industry is valued at over $5 billion and nearly two-third of it is based in Uttar Pradesh. It faces tough competition from North America and Brazil, where the buyers are now shifting to, putting lakhs of jobs at risk.
The government is undeterred and claims to be fulfilling its election manifesto promise of shutting all illegal slaughterhouses.
"Instructions to shut the illegal slaughterhouses have been given and in case of the legal slaughterhouses, if there is any issue with the licenses, then strictest action will be taken against them. That is the order directly from the Chief Minister. It was in our manifesto. We are committed to do so," the newly-inducted energy minister of Uttar Pradesh, Shrikant Sharma, said at a press conference on Friday.
Warned about speaking to the media, state government officials refuse to speak on record. On the condition of anonymity, one of them admitted to NDTV that the technical issues used against some of the meat processing plants in Meerut were trivial, but added that he was just following orders.