Their goose is cooked: Roadside meat shops vanish in Noida, GhaziabadShikha Salaria & Ayaskant Das

HIGHLIGHTS

• Most roadside vendors or butchers working from their jhuggi-jhopdis have either closed the shops or are in panic
• Many areas like Harola Murga Mandi in Sector 8, known for its meat market, now wear a deserted look

When contacted, DM N P Singh told TOI that the exact number of licence issued will be available with the FSDA department.

NOIDA/GHAZIABAD: With the Noida Authority starting a drive against meat shops in Sector 62 and other areas, most roadside vendors or butchers working from their jhuggi-jhopdis have either closed the shops or are in panic. In neighbouring Ghaziabad too, a recce of markets in Trans-Hindon areas which had stalls of meat, fish and poultry products showed that many shops had suddenly vanished.

According to Noida Authority's department of public health, no licence has been issued to any meat shops within its jurisdiction. They have issued licence to only one slaughterhouse and one meat processing unit in Greater Noida -- suggesting that the over thousand shops and other outlets are illegal.

The designated officer for FSDA (food safety and drug administration) in the district, Mahendra Srivastava said that meat shops are running in the district without any licence and they have formed teams to regulate them. However, when TOI did a reality check, many shops were found to have a registration certificate from the food safety department of the district administration.

"We have heard about the drives being carried out by the Noida Authority in areas like Sector 62. The police have sealed some shops in Sector 8 while others on their own downed the shutters. There is no clarity on what will happen. We have a certificate from the government but I got to know that the officials have now asked the owners not to cut the animals inside the shop and bring the already cut meat or chicken from outside Noida. We are getting it from New Ashok Nagar ever since the formation of the new government," said a meat shop owner in Sector 12.

Many areas like Harola Murga Mandi in Sector 8, known for its meat market, now wear a deserted look.

"I went to get some mutton for my family friends last evening. However, where at least 25 makeshift shops used to operate, the street suprisingly looked deserted. Some shopkeepers told me that I will have to go inside the villages if I need mutton or chicken," said Darul Khan, an empl-oyee working in an office in Sector 16.

When contacted, DM N P Singh told TOI that the exact number of licence issued will be available with the FSDA department. "We will seek the exact number from the department on Monday," he said.

Asked about the lack of a proper policy to issue licences to meat shops in Noida, authority CEO Deepak Agarwal said, "We will study how the meat shops are given licences in municipalities in other places. Subsequently, a policy will be formed and it will be placed in the authority meeting ."

In Ghaziabad, poultry stalls that dotted the arterial CISF Road of Indirapuram have vanished while there are no shops either of fish or poultry products in Bihari Market. Meat shops set up in open areas of Ahimsa Khand 2 have also vanished while the poultry and fish market in Sector 3 of Vaishali wears a deserted look. Some shopkeepers, however, said poultry can be arranged upon order. "Over 95% shops that did not have licences have been shut down after an order was issued by the mayor," said GMC health officer Dr RK Yadav.