Beef disappears off tables in Kerala

Keralites' favourite meat has disappeared from their menu with beef merchants shutting down all beef stalls in Kerala indefinitely from Thursday.
The strike was called by Kerala Cattle Merchants Association in protest against the attack on trucks carrying cattle from the southern states in Tamil Nadu by Hindutva outfits like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Hanuman Sena, Shiv Sena, Bajrang Dal and Hindu Makkal Katchi in the wake of the ban on cow slaughter in Maharashtra and other states.
The merchants, who have been staging various types of protests for more than two weeks now, resorted to the strike after their plea for the intervention of Tamil Nadu and Kerala governments against the attacks failed to elicit any response.
State Agriculture Minister K P Mohanan said that he had taken up the matter with the TN Home and Veterinary ministers and was awaiting their response. He said no government agencies in TN had any role in preventing the trucks crossing the state. Certain elements have taken the law into their hands.
Association president K H Kamaludhin said that they have urged their counterparts in TN to close the cattle markets if their government failed to ensure safe transportation of slaughter animals. The association representatives will meet the cattle growers and merchants in Tamil Nadu in this regard on August 7.
Several truckers in TN have stopped transporting cattle to Kerala after they suffered heavy loss due to the attacks. This led to acute shortage of red meet in the state and resulted in steep hike in the price of not only beef but also chicken and other meats. While the price of beef rose by 40 per cent, the price of chicken has gone up by more than 20 per cent.
Kerala, which requires roughly 1,000 tonnes of beef per day, depends heavily on the neighbouring states to meet its demand. More than 90 per cent of this comes from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. According to market circles, the state has been getting 100 truck-loads, each with at least 30 heads of cattle through Tamil Nadu every day.
The attacks are fallouts of the ban on beef introduced in the states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party and the federal government's cow worship policy. The right wing outfits have been waylaying the trucks and sending the cattle to cow shelter homes.
Beef is an important item in Kerala menu. People, including Hindus, relish the red meat as it is appetizing and cheap. It accounts for more than 50 per cent of all meat consumed in the state. The annual sale of beef is estimated at 230,000 metric tonnes while poultry accounts for 151,000 tonnes.
news@khaleejtimes.com

• India