Srinagar, Nov 19: With Punjab Chief Minister Baghwant Singh Mann currently on a visit to Srinagar, meat dealers from Kashmir have appealed to the Omar Abdullah government to take up with him the harassment faced by livestock transporters on Punjab highways. The dealers said they are repeatedly forced to pay private contractors despite using Punjab only as a transit route.
Mehrajuddin Ganai, General Secretary of the Meat Dealers Association, said the issue has already been brought to the notice of the Jammu and Kashmir government and that they now expect the matter to be formally raised with the visiting Punjab Chief Minister. He said the situation has been worsening in recent weeks, with truck drivers facing routine obstruction.
According to the Association, private contractors stop livestock trucks at different points along the route and demand hefty payments under the pretext of cattle fare charges, even though no procurement is made from Punjab. Ganai said such forced payments have become a significant burden on transporters and threaten the stability of supplies to the Kashmir Valley.
He said if the practice continues and authorities fail to intervene, the dealers may have no option but to resort to a strike. He cautioned that any such move would likely cause shortages of meat in local markets and could trigger a sharp rise in prices, affecting consumers across the Valley.
The dealers urged the government to ensure secure and unobstructed movement of livestock trucks and called for decisive action to prevent extortion on Punjab highways.
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