Meat shop
Representative image of a meat shop. Photo credit - The Hindu

The Greater Guwahati Qureshi Meat Association, which had announced to stage protest on October 31, 2018, has decided to suspend the programme temporarily.

Informing this, the president and general secretary of the Greater Guwahati Qureshi Meat Association, Muslim Ali and Makbul Ahmed respectively in a statement said the protest programme has been temporarily suspended by the Association following a discussion with the Commissioner of Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC).

As part of the protest programme, the Association had announced to gherao the GMC office on October 31, 2018.

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Greater Guwahati Qureshi Meat Association’s general secretary Makbul Ahmed informed that they have been observing indefinite strike from October 15 in support of their various demands.

The Association also urged the GMC to withdraw the Guwahati Municipal Corporation’s decision to shut down three meat shops in Noonmati.

Due to the decision of the Association, a total of 156 meat shops across Guwahati have been completely shut down.

The Association’s general secretary, Ahmed also stated that until the three meat shops are not opened by the GMC and no actions are taken against the mutton shops being run in the city without licence, their indefinite strike would continue.

Earlier, talking to Northeast Now, the general secretary of the Association, Makbul Ahmed had said, “The closure of the three units is illegal and poor traders are suffering because of the arbitrary decision of the veterinary branch of the Guwahati Municipal Corporation.”

It may be mentioned that acting on a court order, the Guwahati Municipal Corporation has been trying to enforce scientific slaughter of goats at the only slaughter house of Guwahati at the complex of Assam Livestock and Poultry Corporation at Panjabari.