the goan I network
PANAJI
Union Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi on Monday indicated that the reported moves in neighbouring Karnataka to enforce a beef ban which could greatly impact supply to the Goa market will depend on the sentiments of the people in that State.
In Goa to address the media on the first 100-day achievements of the Centre with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the helm for a second term, Joshi said the Bharatiya Janata Party’s stand on cow slaughter follows Mahatma Gandhi’s views on the issue. Joshi was responding to a question on whether Karnataka which is now ruled by the BJP will go ahead with the ban on beef, including slaughter and curbing its sale and possession, which could severely and adversely impact supply and prices of the commodity in Goa.
He said whether the moves for a ban on beef will go through depended on the “feelings” of people of Karnataka.
“Cow slaughtering ban is there in many States. In Karnataka, it is yet to be decided, but if it is decided also, it will be as per the feelings of many people in Karnataka,” Joshi said.
Goa gets most of its beef from the neighbouring districts of Belgaum and Hubli in Karnataka and a ban there could jack up prices as well as cause a shortage in the local markets.
The issue of ban on cow
slaughter as well as on possession and sale of beef came to the fore last week in neighbouring Karnataka when the cow protection cell of the BJP in that State formally made the demand in a memorandum to Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa.
Joshi is an MP from Karnakata.
A ban on beef in Karnataka anytime in the near future could severely impact both the domestic market as well as the hospitality sector even as the new tourism season is set to begin within a few weeks.
Goa’s sole abattoir operated by the State-owned Goa Meat Complex at Usgao is also non-functional due to a myriad of issues for some years further increasing the dependency on Karnataka for supply.
