Campaigning for first phase of Lok Sabha polls ends in UP
The seats going for polls in the first phase are Saharanpur, Bijnor, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Nagina, Moradabad, Rampur and Pilibhit.
In the wake of crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses, meat sellers across Uttar Pradesh, are continuing their protest for the second day on Tuesday.
Reports suggested that goat meat was not available in many districts but chicken was being sold in few shops. Many shops selling mutton were closed in Lucknow.
As per rough estimate there could be around 5,000 meat shops in Lucknow, operating from shanties and huts.
Advertisement
In many parts of eastern UP shortage of meat was reported but licenced shops were allowed to sell meat in Allahabad and Bahraich.
Giving clarification over the crackdown, the Uttar Pradesh government on Monday had said that it was acting only against the illegal abattoirs.
"We are acting only against illegal abattoirs. Licenced slaughter houses are requested to stick to the norms," Health Minister Siddhartha Nath Singh was quoted as saying by a new agency.
Meanwhile, Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court on Tuesday sought reply from state governemnt and Lucknow Nagar Nigam on closure of meat shops and non-renewal of license of meat shops.
A day after Yogi Adityanath took charge as the chief minister of UP, two slaughterhouses were sealed by the Nagar Nigam authorities in Allahabad.
The ban on legal as well as illegal slaughterhouses was one of the main agendas of the BJP manifesto in the recently concluded elections.
Reports suggested that there are about 130 legal slaughterhouses in the state employing over two lakh people. The net worth of the entire beef industry in UP is approximately Rs. 17,000 crore.
The beef row started after a man was lynched to death in Dadri after rumours that he had stored beef in his refrigerator.
Advertisement
