SHILLONG, July 6: With Assam mulling a law to protect cows, the Conrad K Sangma government has decided to talk to the neighbouring state to ensure that there is no disruption in the transportation of cattle to Meghalaya.
“We will take up the issue with Assam’s Director General of Police (DGP) and Principal Secretary of Animal Husbandry & Veterinary to come up with a mechanism so cattle coming from other states can be transported to Meghalaya,” Principal Secretary, Animal Husbandry & Veterinary, GHP Raju said on Tuesday.
Stating that it has come to the department’s notice that there is a shortage of beef in the market, he said people, who eke out a living from the meat business, are staring at hardship. The meat traders in the state bring the cattle from Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
“It has come to our knowledge that Assam government is planning to enact a law for the protection of cows. The laws legislated by other states shall not create any inconvenience to the poor farmers of our state,” Raju said.
“If the Assam government enacts a law, we will need to see its content and act thereafter. The Assam government, or for that matter any government, can create a mechanism to verify if the cattle have been brought from outside Assam and if their destination is Meghalaya,” Raju said.
He said it is up to the Assam government to enact the legislation on cow protection since it is a state subject.
“If it is prohibited, then there has to be a mechanism to facilitate the transportation of cattle from other places to Meghalaya through Assam,” the official said.
He said the farmers in Meghalaya have the right to purchase and bring cattle from anywhere in India other than Assam.
“We will make a request to our Assam counterpart. We are a meat-consuming state and any shortage in supply will lead to escalation of price and create inconveniences to the consumers,” Raju said.
He said the Covid-19 pandemic and resultant containment measures were another reason behind the shortage of beef in the state.
“A lot of trucks, carrying cattle from Bihar and West Bengal, have not been able to come to Meghalaya due to the Covid-19 situation. We have written to Chief Secretaries and DGPs of West Bengal and Assam to facilitate the movement of the cattle-laden trucks destined to our state,” Raju said.
Earlier, the Khasi Jaintia Butchers’ Welfare Association had claimed that no cattle are coming to the state after the Assam government announced it would come up with a bill for the protection of cows.
According to the association, there are strong possibilities that the transportation of cattle will not be allowed via Assam.
“It appears that they are going ahead to impose a ban on the slaughter of cattle even before they have come up with the bill,” the association said.
