MARGAO
Beef scarcity was felt in the commercial capital on Friday on the eve of All Souls Day for lack of meat supplies given that Thursday was a holiday on account of Diwali.
Resultantly, beef ran out of stock at the stalls at the SGPDA retail market and the Gandhi market on Friday, with traders attributing the shortage to the closure of the Goa Meat Complex on Thursday. Shoppers from Salcete, who had come to the markets to purchase of the meat, had to return home disappointed. The beef supply is expected to resume on Saturday.
Traders further pointed out that they are facing difficult times in running their business with the supplies from across the border restricted because of seizure of meat by animal activists at the borders.
“We are facing difficult times to run our business. Hotels and restaurants place order for specific meat requirements, which we cannot meet from the Goa Meat Complex. As a result, we lose business,” remarked a beef trader at the SGPDA market.
Another trader pointed that import of beef from Karnataka has been affected because of the raids conducted by some right wing organisations.
Local resident of Fatorda, Milagres Fernandes has cried foul over the beef shortage at the SGPDA and Gandhi markets on the eve of the All Souls Day. “I have been informed that a large number of Catholics who came to the two markets to meet their beef requirements had to return home disappointed as the stall ran dry. This is unfair to the people. This is injustice to the community,” he added.
