17 rules UP meat sellers must follow

Aditya Dev

Agra:





Old Orders Being Enforced, Say Officials 

 

From transporting meat only in insulated freezer vans to health certificates for all workers, from forbidding meat shops near religious places and vegetable markets to strict FSDA compliance, the Uttar Pradesh government has sent out an elaborate list of 17 dos and don'ts for meat shop owners. The list of necessary infrastructure is so exhaustive, said meat shop owners, that most retailers will have to down shutters permanently .

 

Meat sellers have been directed to stay beyond a 50metre radius of religious places. They will have to also ensure that their shops are locat ed at least 100 metres from the main gate of such places. Meat shops also can't be located near vegetable markets. Meat sellers cannot slaughter any animal or poultry inside a shop, and will have to put up curtains or tinted glass so that the meat is not visible to the public. While some of the rules have existed in the past, none of them have been enforced to the degree that they will be from now on.

The new guidelines include a lot of paperwork as well. First, all persons working at meat shops will have to obtain health certificate from government doctors. The meat must also be certified by authorized veterinarians.

For obtaining licences in urban areas, applicants will have to first get a no-objection certificate from the circle officer and the municipal corporation, and an NOC from the food safety and drug administration (FSDA). In rural areas, meat vendors will have to get an NOC from the gram panchayat, circle officer and FSDA. Any flouting of FSDA norms will lead to immediate suspension of the licence.

Meat vendors have also been directed not to slaughter any ill, milch or pregnant animal. They must also get their premises whitewashed every six months. All the knives and other implements must be made of steel. Meat shops should have proper waste disposal arrangements, and should keep complete records of all meat purchased from slaughterhouses.

Moreover, the fresh orders specify that meat can only be transported in insulated freezer vehicles from slaughterhouses, and should be stored in refrigerators with transparent doors. It will also be necessary for meat shops to be equipped with geysers.

The notifications have been roundly criticised by meat sellers. Jameeluddin Qu reshi, national president of Sarvadaliya Muslim Sangharsh Samiti, said it would mean at least 60% of meat sellers going out of business. He also demanded a single-window system, because several NOCs would be needed.

Mohammad Rafiq Qureshi, a meat vendor in Mantola locality here, said, “The new guidelines are quite strict and will push many out of the business. Authorities are asking for too many NOCs and there is also no clarity about fees to be paid for obtaining new licences.“ There are systemic problems to be faced as well. For instance, Firozabad district does not have a slaughterhouse from where vendors can buy meat. Municipal commissioner Pramod Kumar said, “There is no slaughterhouse here and we cannot give a temporary licence. For the time being meat shops will not be allowed to operate.“