SHILLONG: With the issue of cattle smuggling taking its toll on the businesses of the local butchers of the state, the Khasi Jaintia Butcher’s Association had convened a meeting on March 12 where they expressed gratitude to HSPDP MLA from Nongkrem Ardent Basaiawoit for highlighting the issue during the Assembly session on March 11.
The Association in a statement issued to the media on Sunday said that cattle smuggling has brought immense hardships to the association.
The Association formed way back in 1988 has been facing various hurdles pertaining to cattle smuggling since 1990. To overcome this problem, the association with the help of the State Government came up with the system of providing transit pass.
However, in 2008 while late S. Kharsyntiew was its president, more than 199 cattle were seized by the BSF and Custom officials, but the Association alleged that the seized cattle were taken to unknown locations.
On June 9, 2008 a memorandum was sent to the then Minister in Charge of Veterinary ECB Bamon who took up the matter. Subsequently, a letter was received by the Association from the Officer on Special Duty of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary, after which the association met DCs/SPs of all the districts to acknowledge the Association’s transit pass proposal which was executed since 1993.
However, the Association said the implementation of the transit pass did not bear fruit. In this connection, a public meeting was convened on January 7, 2016, at Laitlyngkot where they decided to stop purchasing cattle from Khanapara and shutdown the business from January 18 to February 3 as a mark of protest against smuggling.
With the issue being raised by Basaiawoit, the Association expressed hope that the state government will analyze the memorandum it had earlier submitted.
