Of the different dietary traditions observed across the world, the delicacy of cooked tapioca with thick, spicy beef always strikes Kottayam as obviously desirable and as native as the biriyani in Malabar. But not any more.
The skyrocketing price for meat has forced several families to skip the item from their diet. Considering the status of beef as a common staple for many, the issue has now drawn an intervention at the district level.
Uniform price
A meeting of the Kottayam district panchayat, the other day, decided to set a uniform price of ₹320 per kilogram of meat across the district. The move takes a cue from recent efforts by the Manjoor and Mulakkulam grama panchayats in stabilising the beef prices at ₹330 and ₹340 respectively.
“In my capacity as chairperson of the district planning committee and as chairperson of the district panchayat, letters have been forwarded to all municipalities and panchayats seeking to convene meetings of meat sellers and bring down the prices to ₹320. If we could regulate the prices in a handful of local bodies, meat sellers in remaining locations will have no other option but to fall in line,” Nirmala Jimmy said.
Kottayam consumes a vast quantity of meat, beef in particular, according to Ms. Jimmy. “Most people, especially farmers, would like to have meat in their diet at least once a week,” she added. The price for quality beef in Kottayam varies between ₹350 and ₹390 while it is available at a much lesser price in the neighbouring parts of Idukki and Ernakulam districts.
The move, however, appears to have not gone down well with meat sellers, who are set to approach court against the move. “The action is in violation of a High Court order preventing government agencies from regulating the price of beef, which is a non-essential commodity,” said Salim, president of the Meat Industries Welfare Association.
With bulk of the cattle for meat sales in Kerala coming from other States, the traders will be able to cut down on the retail prices by at least ₹50 per kg if the authorities intervene to stop the surging goon attacks or abuse of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act ,1960 on cattle trucks, he added.
