01-11-2009, 06:28 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><span style='color:red'>âBeef processing units can solve cattle smuggling problemâ</span>
From Our Spl Correspondent
NEW DELHI: Meghalaya Governor Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary has suggested that the state governments in the North-East should establish beef processing units to generate revenue and create employment avenues for youth which, he says, would immensely help deal with the perennial problem of cattle smuggling across the India-Bangladesh borders.
Apart from cross-border infiltration and insurgency, cattle smuggling has become a nightmare for the authorities in the region. A large number of cattle worth crores of rupees from as far as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab and Haryana are smuggled into Bangladesh through the porous borders of the North-East. By the time the harried animals reach Bangladesh, they are half-dead while many perish on the way and the government does not receive any revenue from this illegal trade. The Rs 2,500-crore Bangladeshi leather industry reportedly thrives on cattle smuggled from India.
Ironically, northeastern states have to import cattle from outside the region to meet its beef requirement.
Mr Mooshahary has given <b>a novel solution</b> to this problem. In the recently concluded plenary meeting of North Eastern Council (NEC) here, he proposed that the state governments should set up beef processing units in the region where cattle meat can be used for consumption and even exports to foreign countries including Bangladesh.
"There is no abhorrence to eating beef in the northeastern region where many people eat cow meat. Processed beef would also give huge revenue to the government and provide employment to a large number of people. In the long run this would reduce the unhealthy trend of cattle smuggling from India to Bangladesh," the Governor told The Shillong Times after the meeting.
<b>Mr Mooshahary, who is a former Director General of BSF</b>, said, "Every third cow slaughtered in Dhaka city alone is from India," adding, "Cattle can help the northeastern region set up its leather industry."Â {One wonders how he knows this}
According to BSF sources cattle worth Rs 25 lakh were seized along the Indo-Bangla borders in the North-East in November last alone. The volume of the illegal trade involving those not caught may run into crores of rupees.
Following increased vigil by BSF cattle were smuggled into that country by river route. It is alleged that at times BSF and BDR also get involved in such illegal trade by receiving cuts from the smugglers.
On several occasions, there were firing incidents over cattle smuggling and flag meetings had to be called to resolve the issue. Normally, smugglers ram the animals in large herds into the border fencing and as a result the fencing crashes and gets demolished, BSF sources said.
Meanwhile, sources said DoNER Ministry was in touch with the Ministry of Food Processing to consider the idea of setting up beef-based industries in the region.
http://www.theshillongtimes.com/shillong.html#main1<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
And not pork! Even though in NE pork is consumed more than beef.
From Our Spl Correspondent
NEW DELHI: Meghalaya Governor Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary has suggested that the state governments in the North-East should establish beef processing units to generate revenue and create employment avenues for youth which, he says, would immensely help deal with the perennial problem of cattle smuggling across the India-Bangladesh borders.
Apart from cross-border infiltration and insurgency, cattle smuggling has become a nightmare for the authorities in the region. A large number of cattle worth crores of rupees from as far as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab and Haryana are smuggled into Bangladesh through the porous borders of the North-East. By the time the harried animals reach Bangladesh, they are half-dead while many perish on the way and the government does not receive any revenue from this illegal trade. The Rs 2,500-crore Bangladeshi leather industry reportedly thrives on cattle smuggled from India.
Ironically, northeastern states have to import cattle from outside the region to meet its beef requirement.
Mr Mooshahary has given <b>a novel solution</b> to this problem. In the recently concluded plenary meeting of North Eastern Council (NEC) here, he proposed that the state governments should set up beef processing units in the region where cattle meat can be used for consumption and even exports to foreign countries including Bangladesh.
"There is no abhorrence to eating beef in the northeastern region where many people eat cow meat. Processed beef would also give huge revenue to the government and provide employment to a large number of people. In the long run this would reduce the unhealthy trend of cattle smuggling from India to Bangladesh," the Governor told The Shillong Times after the meeting.
<b>Mr Mooshahary, who is a former Director General of BSF</b>, said, "Every third cow slaughtered in Dhaka city alone is from India," adding, "Cattle can help the northeastern region set up its leather industry."Â {One wonders how he knows this}
According to BSF sources cattle worth Rs 25 lakh were seized along the Indo-Bangla borders in the North-East in November last alone. The volume of the illegal trade involving those not caught may run into crores of rupees.
Following increased vigil by BSF cattle were smuggled into that country by river route. It is alleged that at times BSF and BDR also get involved in such illegal trade by receiving cuts from the smugglers.
On several occasions, there were firing incidents over cattle smuggling and flag meetings had to be called to resolve the issue. Normally, smugglers ram the animals in large herds into the border fencing and as a result the fencing crashes and gets demolished, BSF sources said.
Meanwhile, sources said DoNER Ministry was in touch with the Ministry of Food Processing to consider the idea of setting up beef-based industries in the region.
http://www.theshillongtimes.com/shillong.html#main1<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
And not pork! Even though in NE pork is consumed more than beef.