Loss of Cattle in Karnataka and Maharashtra Floods May Cause Prolonged Shortage of Meat Supply in Goa

Goa is not only dependent on the neighbouring states for the Veggies, Fish, and Milk but also the major supply of the meat comes from the neighbouring states of Karnataka and Maharashtra on a daily basis to Goa. But due to the flooding in Karnataka and Maharashtra, the supply of meat to the tiny state is said to have got delayed. According to the reports, the beef shops in Panaji market have been forced to pull down their shutters due to the nonsupply of fresh meat from Belgavi in Karnataka.     

Just like fish, the consumption of meat is growing in the state with the number of hotels and food outlets mushrooming, and the demand is never-ending. The cow meat is in huge demand from the Muslim and Christian community in Goa and a prolonged short supply may lead to inflating the prices of the same in the state, said the sources.   

According to the report published in the Times of India, Beef shops in the Panaji market were forced to down their shutters on Tuesday after the supply of fresh meat from Belagavi to Goa was affected due to the shortage of animals in Karnataka, as well as the poor road conditions at Chorla ghat, which connects the two states.

Goa has a huge demand of 12 to 15 tons of meat per day from North and South combined but presently only 5-ton meat is expected by the weekend, said the sources. “Due to the heavy rainfall and resulting floods of the past week, farmers in Maharashtra and Karnataka have reported large losses in cattle numbers,” said the president of the Qureshi meat traders’ association, Manna Bepari.   

“Many of these farmers would typically bring their cattle to Belagavi for sale. Due to this, there is an overall shortage of animals in Belagavi. Since Goa sources its fresh meat from Belgavi and Kolhapur, our suppliers have not been able to send us meat in the past few days,” Bepari said.

Another reason behind the shortage of meat is the roadblocks due to the landslides in Chorla Ghat. “There is a huge risk in driving through Ghats during the rain due to the fear of landslide,” said the sources.

The meat shops in Panaji municipal market wore a deserted look on Saturday owing to the unavailability of mutton and beef. Only chicken sellers had some birds. Despite the acute meat shortage, the traders still managed to arrange the delivery of live cattle to Goa for Eid-ul-Zuha, celebrated on Monday. There were about 90 animals at the Goa meat complex brought from Karnataka on Saturday and Sunday for slaughter, sources said.   

“The ‘Qurbani’ animals must be booked by beef traders in advance. We had already placed an order for those animals in Belagavi following which they were set aside for us. Since we had made bookings prior to the flood, our suppliers sent us the animals in time for Bakri Eid from Karnataka. We requested protection from the Karnataka police besides the Goa government and Goa police; both ensured smooth transport in the transport of live animals to the state,” Bepari said.      

However, the cattle suppliers are unable to send the required quantities of meat for daily consumption, said trader Hussain Khatib. The floodwaters have to recede in the neighboring states for better transportation, but the farmers will also need some time to rehabilitate from their losses as a lot of cattle were killed in the floods, he added.

Source: TOI |