In a symbolic protest against the beef ban in Maharashtra, workers engaged in the industry from across the State on Tuesday attempted to bring a truck-load of old bullocks to a venue here where they staged a rally.
The organisers had expected that around 1 lakh farmers and workers from across the State would participate in the rally with their unproductive animals. But only around 2,000-3,000 protesters turned up.
Police, who had increased presence for the occasion, intercepted a vehicle carrying six or seven bullocks at the Turbhe Naka on the outskirts of the city before it could reach Azad Maidan, the venue of the protest.
“It was a symbolic protest. We brought only seven or eight animals to convey the message to the government that the ban is hurting us. Police restrained us in order to maintain peace,” Vijay Dalvi, secretary of the Mutton Butchers Union Sarvashramik Sangh, told The Hindu .
Besides hurting the economic interests of traders and merchants, the ban on slaughter of bulls and bullocks brought in by the BJP-Shiv Sena regime has impacted the lives of workers in the industry.
Abandoned in distress According to sources in rural Maharashtra, particularly in Vidarbha and Marathwada regions, crisis-hit farmers have begun abandoning unproductive or old animals. Cattle transactions have come down and the price of old cattle has fallen. This has further hurt impacted the farming potential of debt-ridden farmers.
While Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently assured the people that his government would create a ‘maha mandal’ for protection of the cow and its progeny, in addition to launching a ‘gokulgram yojana’ that would develop one cow shelter for every 1,000 cows, there is nothing to show for it. Not a single such cow shelter has come up.
Representatives of major political parties, including the NCP, CPI, Congress and CPI(M), social organisations and people connected with the beef industry were scheduled to participate in the rally. While leaders such as the Republican Sena president Anandraj Ambedkar, NCP MLA Jitendra Ahwad, NCP women’s wing president Vidya Chavan and leaders from CITU and other unions were present, the show was a disappointment for the organisers.
- Fully banned
- Andhra Pradesh, Telangana , Bihar, Chattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand
- Allowed with slaughter certificates
- Assam, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal
- No ban
- Arunachal Pradesh, Kerala (animals above 10 years), Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura
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