Admin stops march, meat sellers stage sit-in

LUCKNOW: Hundreds of city meat sellers, who were stopped from taking out a protest march on Monday, held demonstration at Shaheed Smarak, demanding renewal of their licences. Raising anti-government slogans, people associated with the trade staged protest along with social and political activists.
Claiming that the crackdown on unlicensed meat shops and slaughterhouses had deprived them of their only source of livelihood, they also demanded financial assistance to upgrade their shops as per norms laid down by the pollution control board and food safety and standards authority of India.
Over 800 people assembled at Shaheed Smarak to take out the march till Gandhi statute at GPO. However, district administration denied permission and deployed heavy police to stop them. At this, protesters carrying posters and banners reminding government of its promise of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’, staged a demonstration for over two hours at Shaheed Smarak itself.
Shaqeel Qureshi of Nyay Manch said lakhs of people in the trade had been hit by the crackdown which should have been done after making alternative arrangements. “"We have been in the business for generations, this is our source of income. The government has paid no heed to any of our pleas so we are left with no option but to sit in protest,” said Abdul Hamid, secretary of Lucknow bakri murgha gosht vypar mandal.
Amit Mishra of Bhartiya Nirman Mazdur union felt said it was a conspiracy on the part of the government to create a commercial market with monopoly of the elites. He also mentioned how various associated sectors had suffered.