Back on Mewat roadside, biryani vendors run into cash crunch

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“No truck drivers stop here now, they have no money,” said Wasim Akram, 15. His family is among 11 vendors to have returned to this stretch, of the 20 before the controversy broke.

Nearly 50 families of the Qureshi community cooked biryani at home and sold it from thelas in Doha, Mewat. They say they have reached a compromise with the Meo-Muslims and Hindus. “For nearly three months, we couldn’t even afford two meals a day. So we pleaded with the villagers to let us sell biryani again,” said Shakeel Ahmed, 40, Akram’s father, who has 13 other children.

“It’s been two weeks since we returned but there is no business,” said Akram. “While truck drivers who stopped for lunch have disappeared, others come to us with Rs 2,000 notes. We have no change for that.”

Mohammad Mustakh, 25, said they have slashed prices. “We sold a plate at Rs 30 earlier but have brought it down to Rs 10. Also, we only make 2 kg now compared to 5 earlier. Before September, we were sold out by lunch. Now, on most days, we have to discard some biryani in the evening.”

Mewat SP Kuldeep Singh, who at the time had confirmed seizure of seven samples of biryani, said “We have not received results.” While there had been no FIR, the samples had been taken and sent to Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Hisar.

DIG Bharti Arora, the nodal officer of the Haryana Police’s Cow Protection Task Force, said she hasn’t heard from anyone on the results of the tests either.

Dr Ashok Malik, PRO at LLR University said, “The results of the tests were conveyed to the government then itself. I am not sure who in the government… Some newspaper reports said they were positive, but I don’t have the details now.” Dr Ravinder Sharma, director of research at the university, refused to comment on the results.

The vendors have long stopped waiting for the results, which they had hoped would validate their claim that they only sold chicken and buffalo meat biryani. Shakeel Ahmed is only relieved that the raids had stopped. “It’s all calm in the village now.”

Haji Shah, who stands in for his sarpanch daughter-in-law Rubiya, claims to be one of the complainants against the vendors. He says he allowed them to work again as they were “dying of hunger”. “Let them do what they want to, I don’t care,” Shah said, alleging, “They will slaughter cows, whether alive or dead… Let’s see, they have vowed to only use chicken and buffalo meat.”

While it isn’t still clear who filed the complaints about beef allegedly being sold, the vendors suspected it was done by Meo Muslims like Shah and Hindus. The two communities had objected to the Qureshi business at a panchayat meeting held in July, ahead of Ramzan.

Next to the desolate biryani stalls stands a cooperative bank. Looking at the large crowd there these days, Wakir Khan, 26, said, “Our days are spent lining up outside the bank. Where is the time to prepare biryani? The bank has been shut since morning, but they have all gathered hoping it will open soon.”

Khan is yet to set up a stall as, he alleged, police also took his utensils and cart during the raid in September. The vendors claim police seized 40 vessels and five carts. “They broke all our cots as well,” said Mustakh.

Ahmed is worried about the approaching winter. “We have no money to even buy warm clothes for our children.”

With lunchtime almost over, and still no customer in sight, Wasim wondered about their options. “We aren’t educated, there is very little we can do. This biryani business first got a bad name because of the cow meat rumours and now there is no cash. I think it is time to shut shop and go to Gurgaon or Sohna looking for a job.”