122 vendors allowed to sell meat in Noida

The 122 vendors are those who previously held a licence for selling meat but are yet to obtain a no-objection certificate, which has been delayed due to an alleged confusion between the administration and the authority.

After a break of over two months, the city police on Monday allowed 122 vendors to sell raw meat in the city. The shops were closed in a crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses and meat shops in the state following orders of chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

More than 50 meat vendors gathered at the office of the city magistrate Mahender Kumar Singh to get their grievances redressed.

The 122 vendors are those who previously held a licence for selling meat but are yet to obtain a no-objection certificate, which has been delayed due to an alleged confusion between the administration and the authority.

More than 50 meat vendors gathered at the office of the city magistrate Mahender Kumar Singh to get their grievances redressed. The vendors said that the government has banned illegal slaughterhouses and not the shops. They demanded officials to resolve their issues at the earliest.

According to these vendors, the administration and police have allegedly failed to understand the nature of the order passed by the chief minister.

Singh was told by the meat vendors that the closure of their business has led their families to starve as selling meat was their only source of income. They said that the restrictions are impacting the business of as many as 300 vendors in the city, who have been making their living by selling meat for more than a decade.

However, Singh told them to visit the circle officer (city-1), Abhinandan, as the matter had already been discussed with him. They later reached the office of the circle officer in Sector 6 and demanded that they be allowed to run their shops.

Abdul Waqar, a meat vendor said, “We do not slaughter animals in the shop. Meat is being supplied from legal, authorised slaughterhouses. In Gautam Budh Nagar, we have only one slaughterhouse, which is in Surajpur. It is legal but the administration has failed to handle the matter properly.”

However, circle officer Abhinandan said that only 122 vendors have the requisite licence in Noida to sell meat, while more than 150 vendors were conducting business and running their shops without any documents. He told them that licence holders have been allowed to run their business as a temporary relief.

Abhinandan told HT that the delay (in issuing licences) was because these vendors did not have a no-objection certificate. Usually, it is issued by the municipal body, after surveying the area and inspecting the measures taken by the vendor.

In Noida, confusion reigns over NOCs in certain areas, which the authority states are under the purview of the administration and vice-versa.

Abhinandan said, “Till the issue of NOC is resolved, the police, in consultation with the city magistrate, has asked 122 vendors to reopen their businesses. Those who never obtained a licence from the department of food safety in the first place will not be allowed to do so.”