The latest victim of Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath’s government on the illegal meat shop crackdown is one of Lucknow’s most famous and oldest eateries, Tunday Kebabi.
The newly-formed BJP government of UP had on Wednesday ordered a crackdown on slaughterhouses that were being run without appropriate permits.
According to a Scroll.in report, the restaurant that started in 1905 was closed down due to lack of meat on Wednesday.
Speaking to Scroll, the owner Mohammad Usman said, “The shop was shut the entire day. The meat was not available.
“Gosht nahi milega to kaise chalayenge. (If we don’t get meat, how will we run the shop)?”
The outlet of the restaurant at Akbari gate that served buffalo meat remained closed.
But the other outlet in Aminabad that served chicken and mutton stayed open, since the supply of mutton or chicken had not been affected, the owner said.
With the hardline Hindutva icon and Gorakhnath Temple priest Yogi Adityanath at the helm of matters now, there have been several raids and closures of slaughterhouses across the state of Uttar Pradesh.
Of the 200 to 250 illegal shops across the capital city of Lucknow, so far, 9 have been shut down.
Chief Veterinary Officer of the LMC AK Rao told The Indian Express, “There are shops running in shanties that are not following norms. Such shops need to be regulated or closed down.”
There have been raids by joint teams of Pollution Control Board, municipal authorities, administrative and police officials in Varanasi, while 10 other meat shops were closed in Ghaziabad.
Three meat shops belonging to a Muslim owner in Hathras were also set on fire, allegedly by a mob, on Tuesday.