Panaji: Beef vendors across Goa staged a statewide shutdown on Monday, a day before Christmas Eve, to protest harassment following a clash with members of a cow vigilante group in Margao last week. They said the shutdown would continue on Tuesday too.
Quraishi Meat Traders Association has voiced concerns over the safety of its members following the clash between the two groups. “No meat trader will sell beef. We are very clear about our demands,” the association’s general secretary, Anwar Bepari, told TOI.
The beef vendors have sought a meeting with chief minister Pramod Sawant to put forth their demands, which include security while transporting beef and measures to prevent further harassment from cow vigilante groups.
In addition, the Association of All Goa Muslim Jamaats has written to Sawant. “Goa has always prided itself over its peaceful nature and it is imperative that govt takes immediate steps to curb these incidents. The rise in communal tensions, under the guise of religion, is alarming and threatens to destabilise the harmony that Goa has cherished for decades,” the letter, signed by Jamaat president Bashir Ahmed Shaikh, reads.
“The cow vigilantes do not really care about the cows. All they care about is extortion. They have been demanding a hafta from us to continue our trade. They would earlier come to the state borders and harass us. Now, they are coming to our shops. We are running legal operations and have refused to give into their demands,” said vice-president of the association, Shabbir Shaikh, who operates from Margao.
There are roughly 75 beef-selling stores across Goa with nearly 250 vendors and workers engaged in the trade. Currently, Goa’s daily demand is about 25 tonnes of beef, of which 10-12 tonnes is supplied from the neighbouring state into Goa.
Tensions flared at the South Goa Planning and Development Authority market last week when members of a cow vigilante group, disrupted beef vendors’ operations and intercepted a vehicle unloading beef, accusing the vendors of alleged illegalities in the supply chain. What began as a tense stand-off quickly escalated into a physical altercation, leaving three beef vendors injured.
The disruption raised concerns over the safety of meat traders in the state, leading to traders downing their shutters on Monday. The shutdown has affected beef sales two days before Christmas, a time when demand for the red meat is usually high.
“I am a vegetarian, but meat is an essential at the Christmas table. Members of my family who consume meat are deeply affected due to the unavailability of beef,” said Porvorim resident Alzira Monteiro. “If we allow restrictions on beef, later other meats will also be stopped.”
