With the Samajwadi Party down and out in UP and lalu Prasad tied down to his own peculiar circumstances, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seems to have rushed in to fuss over the minorities and meddle in “meat politics” as some Bengal Opposition parties call it.
In an apparent bid to prove a point to the BJP-ruled States after the UP Government banned illegal slaughterhouses, the Trinamool Government has embarked on a unique meat-peddling business. Under the sun umbrella of West Bengal livestock Development Corporation, the State Government has launched “Meat on Wheelz” project that seeks to cart in meat to Bengal households. “The consumers can have their meat delivered at doorsteps” said a senior WBDl official adding the meat will include non-conventional varieties like duck, emu and quail apart from the usual chicken and goat.
Initially Kolkata and the adjoining suburbs will form the target group where after the “business will be extended to districts depending upon the success of the project,” an official said. The products will be produced at Government-owned Haringhata farm in Nadia district which also deals in milk and pork. WBDCl deals in production, processing and marketing of meat products. On whether the freshly slaughtered meat will be delivered the officials said it would include both cooked and frozen variety.
With about 98 percent of Bengal population being non-vegetarians — only Telengana consumes more meat — the business is likely to bring both economic and political dividends, a Trinamool MlA from Ranaghat in Nadia said.
The Government’s decision to peddle and meddle in meat comes at a time when a group of beef producers have expressed their desire to meet the Chief Minister against the backdrop of ban on illegal slaughter houses in UP. “We want to bring our problems to the notice of our Chief Minister,” Mohammad Ali the president of Calcutta Beef Dealers Association said adding “beef is allowed only in Bengal and Kerala and we get our supplies from States like UP. Now the crackdown on this business has affected out business in Bengal.”
He said, “thousands of people directly or indirectly attached to this business could be affected by the decision taken by the UP Government.
The Chief Minister is sympathetic to such problems and we hope she will take up the issue with other State Governments and the Centre.”
There was no response however from the office of the Chief Minister who was currently traveling North Bengal.