UP Govt. should reconsider ban on slaughter houses: Samajwadi Party

New Delhi [India], Mar. 31 (ANI): The Samajwadi Party (SP) advised the Uttar Pradesh Government on Friday to reconsider putting a ban on slaughter houses because this may lead to unemployment and affect the livelihood of small meat vendors in the state. Samajwadi Party leader Naresh Agarwal said the ban on slaughter houses in Uttar Pradesh may create panic. "It may also lead to unemployment for thousands of people, who are engaged in meat trade," Agarwal told ANI. He also claimed that more than 70 percent of meat is consumed by Hindus as compared to Muslims. Following the strike called by the meat sellers in Uttar Pradesh, the slaughter house association on Tuesday said that they do not want to make it difficult for the people and called on the state government to think about the livelihood of the shop owners. "Every meat shop in Uttar Pradesh is unable to continue with their work as slaughter houses are being shut down in the state. The government will have to think about our livelihood as around 65 percent of Uttar Pradesh consumes meat," Shameem Qureshi, the president of slaughter house association, said. He added that the association has asked the government to allow the functioning of meat shops till the time systematic facilities are not set up. "We have also asked the Municipal corporations and Zila Panchayat to assign a place far from the population so that people are not disturbed with the animal slaughter," Qureshi said. He further said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has assured that the meat sellers will not be harassed on this matter and discussion will take place with the association soon. "We are told that the police cannot stop legalised slaughter houses from functioning," he said. On Monday, in an official release, the state asked closure of illegal slaughter houses in view of the overall public order, safety and health of the general public Slaughter house owners and meat sellers in Uttar Pradesh have closed their shops following an indefinite strike call by different associations. The strike was against the government's crackdown on illegal slaughter houses and retail meat shops. According to reports, slaughter house owners and meat retailers are also protesting against raids by municipal authorities and police, alleging exploitation by the authorities. (ANI)