Editorial | A meaty problem

Kashmir is not the only place where meat is consumed. Against the popular, and mostly self indulged, impression that we are the leading meat consumers, the amount of meat consumed by people in Kashmir is not that huge. There are people who take more meat than us. But it is a fact that meat makes an important, and inalienable part, of our diet chart. In this background the absence of meat in the market for almost four months now is a significant issue. The problem of fixing the rates has dragged for months now, and it defeats logic; why the two sides cannot come to some agreement on this. It is not a rocket science to establish the price for meat as all the stages of transaction, from rearing sheep to selling meat on the shop, are for all to observe, and assess. There is nothing that happens in dark. Besides we have marketing agencies, and also an elaborate veterinary department.  The two can together easily calculate the cost and fix the rates.

But it is not happening, and that is the reason for worry. Now it is not just about those who consume meat. It is about a whole chain of business that involves thousands of families. You don’t have high-end dealers, who do business at a higher level of transaction, who are facing the losses only. There are thousands of local meat shops in the length and breadth of this place who sell a sheep or two every day and eke out their living. In this prolonged crisis they have lost their livelihood. At a time when the pandemic has already inflicted huge losses to business, this crisis has further deepened the loss. One wonders why the officials don’t speed up the negotiations with the dealers and fix a price that is acceptable to all the parties. Besides, what is the harm in making the details known to people. After all if the people get to know the actual things that are involved in fixing of prices it will help in doing away with the element of exploitation. Whatever the case, dragging this crisis means loss of livelihood, and that the officials must be mindful of.

   

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

seventeen + eighteen =