Jammu Kashmir: There was a time when there used to be a huge crowd of mutton-chicken eaters in the restaurants of Jammu Kashmir, but the rotten meat incident in Kashmir has badly affected the Rs 100 crore industry of hotels, restaurants and mutton sellers.

Jammu Kashmir News: There are many people across the country who are fond of mutton and chicken. They go to big hotels to eat mutton and chicken. A large number of people in Kashmir also consume it. Earlier, 6000 kg of mutton was consumed daily in Kashmir, but ever since the rotten meat scandal has been exposed, the sale of mutton has been completely affected. The situation is such that now less than 1000 kg of mutton is being sold every day, this has also caused a lot of damage to the industry.

This rotten meat scandal in Kashmir has badly affected the Rs 100 crore industry of hotels, restaurants and mutton sellers. More than 13,000 kg of rotten mutton and thousands of frozen chickens have been confiscated, due to which people are afraid of eating outside food and taking it home and have almost stopped eating outside. From Srinagar to every corner of Kashmir, big hotels, restaurants and small roadside food vendors are sitting almost empty, the business of mutton, chicken and any non-vegetarian food has declined by 80-85%. This crime committed by some people has affected this industry in the whole of Kashmir.

Restaurants that were once bustling with customers enjoying dishes like Wazwan, Rogan Josh and Kebabs are now empty, where 600 customers used to come daily, today even 10 customers hardly come. Big restaurant owners are worried and are questioning the functioning of the Food Safety Department as to why they were not aware of this big scandal and why regular inspections are not being done. Omi Baba, owner of a big restaurant in the city, said, "Sales have gone down by about 80%, not only of mutton, but people are now suspicious of eating anything outside the home, customers have lost confidence, they are questioning what are you giving us.

We have three generations in this business, but people are scared now, the food department is also negligent, there is no regular inspection in two years, they should do the inspection in six months and news was circulated that this meat is going to every big hotel, they should name them, generalizing that all hotels are the same is wrong. Such a big scandal was going on, they should have known that 30 tons of meat was coming and it was coming for so many years, we informed them, but no one reacted. The financial loss is huge but the loss in terms of reputation is irreparable.

The crisis began with raids that began in mid-July, when rotten meat was found in cold storage units and restaurants, leading to widespread public distrust. Customers began avoiding meat-based dishes, leading to a sharp drop in footfalls at restaurants from cities to hill stations. There has been a boom in restaurant openings across the Kashmir Valley over the past few years. The growth of this “restaurant boom” has changed eating habits and the new generation is most involved in this culture of eating out. The primary consumers driving this restaurant boom were the youth who are in their teens, 20s and early 30s, who were heavily influenced. Kashmir’s new restaurants serve a variety of cuisines, including Chinese, Indian, European and Middle Eastern, as well as traditional Kashmiri dishes such as wazwan, primarily mutton and chicken.

Kashmir is considered to be the place with the highest consumption of mutton in India. According to the data of the Food and Supplies Department, Kashmiris consume 60 tons of mutton every day and half of it (30) tons is imported from various states of the country. Apart from this, 22 tons of chicken is consumed, out of which about 12 tons are imported but after the incident, the imported quantity has now come down to only 5 tons. This quantity of both mutton and chicken is also not consumed. Tariq Ahmed, Secretary of the Hotel and Restaurant Club of Kashmir, said, "The incident of rotten meat has scattered the industry. We have only 10-15% of work left, the rest is over. Especially partially prepared chicken, people have completely stopped eating it.

Religious issues have also come up, whether it is halal or not. People have become very cautious. Mutton is only bought from butcher shops, almost all restaurants are out of business, if someone goes to a restaurant, he orders vegetarian dishes only, we have a core business of non-vegetarian food, which has been completely affected, mostly those street vendors who sell traditional mutton wazwan have been affected. This time their sales are not more than 10%. The mutton restaurant industry has suffered losses worth crores. The most affected are the small roadside hotels and restaurants, which are now adopting vegetarian menus and introducing new dishes to retain customers. Kashmir's most popular barbecue street is Khayyam. This street is deserted these days, where decorated chickens, kebabs and barbecues were seen on both sides all day long, now a shop which used to sell 200 barbecues a day is now selling only 10-20. This famous Khayyam Barbecue area of ​​Srinagar earlier used to have a daily sale of around Rs 1 lakh, which has now come down to just Rs 10,000.

Sachin Kumar, a roadside mutton vendor on Khayyam Street, said, "Business has dropped from 100%, only 20% work is left. This happened because the meat that used to come from outside has now stopped and now no one sells it but people now suspect that the same may happen in the future, so they have stopped eating. Now customers ask for simple food, vegetables, not non-vegetarian. Efforts are being made by big hoteliers and restaurant owners to restore confidence by partnering with food influencers and social media campaigns to showcase hygiene standards and meat supply, but it may take a long time to restore public confidence, the public is demanding that local slaughterhouses and transparency should be kept with strict rules to prevent any crisis in future.

Let us tell you that the Jammu and Kashmir Food Safety Department has actively taken action on the rotten meat scandal that came to light in mid-July. Based on a tip-off, the Food Safety Department, along with the Srinagar Police, conducted continuous raids and so far seized more than 13,000 kg of rotten, unlabeled mutton. Apart from this, thousands of prepared chickens and rotten fish were also destroyed. Seeing the raid, many stockholders secretly destroyed hundreds of kilograms of mutton. A large consignment of mutton was found in the Jhelum river from North to South Kashmir, starting with the recovery of 1,200 kg of rotten meat from Sunshine Foods in Zakoora, Srinagar, after which more seizures were made.

The department has stepped up inspections at slaughterhouses, cold storage units, restaurants, and retail markets, stressing that public health is its top priority and appealed to citizens to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity related to food adulteration. Officials confirmed that samples of the seized meat have been sent for laboratory testing, the results of which will be made public soon, admitting systemic problems and saying the scam extends beyond meat to other adulterated food items such as rice, spices and sweets. Over 51,000 kg of adulterated food, including fake rasgullas and fake paneer, were seized in Jammu and Kashmir, revealing the depth of the crisis.

Following a public interest litigation (PIL) filed in the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, the department has been directed to respond on measures to prevent the sale of unsafe meat. The court has also made FSSAI a party, indicating judicial monitoring of their actions. The department is working to break the nexus of traders compromising public health for profit. The food safety department has now strengthened enforcement through regular inspections, modern testing facilities and strict supply chain monitoring. However, it has also faced criticism for delays in action and arrests or not making public the identity of those behind the racket.

PC: Zeenews