Srinagar: Retail mutton dealers in Srinagar on Monday staged a protest here urging authorities to end the “stalemate” over mutton rates.
They said that the rates fixed by the government have led to losses worth crores for them.
Chanting slogans, dozens of mutton dealers gathered at Srinagar’s Press Enclave and demanded an end to the impasse over rates fixed by the government.
They said the government needs to come clean over mutton rates as the growing stalemate has led to losses worth crores in the retail market.
“We have been suffering as the stalemate over mutton rates continues for the last three months. We cannot sell meat at the rate fixed by the authorities. If we do so, we will incur losses worth crores. The retail dealers have already suffered huge losses ever since the government asked them to sell meat @ 480 per kg,” said Mohammad Saleem.
He said the government should supply livestock to retailers from its own units and it will certainly end the three-month-long impasse over the rates.
“If government claims that they have 80,000 sheep units, why don’t they supply livestock to us? We will have no issues to sell meat per kg at government prescribed rates,” he added.
Protesting dealers later appealed to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to personally intervene and impress upon the authorities to settle the issues once for all.
“How long are we supposed to suffer? We too have families. We cannot see them starving. Either the government settle the issue or supply livestock to retail dealers from its own units,” Saleem said.
—KNO

KR Desk