Meerut shuts down to protest abattoirs

Most of the commercial establishments in Meerut downed their shutters today demanding shifting of the slaughterhouse in the city to the outskirts and revoking of the government plan for setting up modern slaughters houses in seven other cities.

Despite the district administration’s restriction on holding a public meeting over the issue,thousands of people gathered at the Budhana gate and a meeting was held under the banners of Ahimsak Samaj,today. The meeting passed off peacefully.

Jain religious leaders,the BJP and the Sangh Parivar have launched a campaign against the proposed slaughterhouses in the state. In protest,a Jain religious leader,Maitri Prabh Sagar maharaj,is on fast for last 15 days in the nearby Baraut town in Bagpat district.

The protest in Meerut has put the BSP government in a tight spot since Muslim leaders of the party in Meerut — Haji Yaqoob Qureshi and Shahid Akhlaq — are the major stakeholders in the meat business.

Sripal Dhama,former BJP MLA,said the campaign is for an end to brutality against the animals.

“Even after the Supreme Court order,the kamela (slaughterhouse) has not been shifted out of the city,” said Dhama. He said the agitation will continue until their demands are met.

Haji Yaqoob Qureshi,BSP MLA from Meerut,termed the protest “a politically motivated campaign by the BJP and other parties”. “The slaughterhouse in Meerut city will be shifted as land for a modern slaughter house has been identified on Hapur road.”

Shahid Akhlaq,former BSP MP from Meerut,said,“The BJP is out to deprive the Muslims from their livelihood. A slaughterhouse is a perfectly legal business as per the UP Municipal Corporation Act.”

BJP spokesman HN Dikshit said the party supports the agitation against the slaughterhouses and accused the state government of trying to appease a section of the society.

The Urban Development department in August 2008 had appointed the municipal corporations of eight cities as nodal agencies for implementing the modern slaughterhouse project on PPP model. Besides Meerut,the modern slaughterhouses are proposed to be set up in Bareilly,Saharanpur,Aligarh,Moradabad,Kanpur,Jhansi and Lucknow. Except in Meerut,so far there is no progress in any of the seven cities as even the land for the project is yet to be identified.

The slaughterhouse proposed in Meerut is likely to be constructed at a cost of Rs 100 crore. APEDA (Agriculture and Processed Food Export Development Agency) under the Union Ministry of Commerce will provide Rs 15 crore for the project.