Goa Factories and Boilers Minister Vijai Sardesai on Tuesday met a group of Muslims and assured them that the Goa Meat Complex will be operational before Eid al-Adha for carrying out religious slaughtering of animals.
The members of the Muslim community had met Sardesai to request him to expedite issuance of permission to the meat complex in order to make it functional before Eid on August 21.
"There is a demand of the Muslim community that there 'Qurbani' is beginning, so before that all legal arrangements should be in place. For that you require a functional goat meat complex. For the same we have given a provisional no-objection certificate to them. Their religious custom should not be disturbed by any external force," Sardesai told ANI.
However, on the other hand, Bashir Sheikh, Chairman of All Goa Muslim Committee, said that the community feels harassed by taking permission from the concerned authorities every year before Eid.
"Every years few months before Eid, we start going after government officials to give us clearance for Qurbani. This is harassment and completely wrong. We have been writing letter to concerned authorities since last six years," Sheikh told ANI.
"We fear that if we won't take permission, then they will take actions against us. But why they wait for us to come to them for permission? If they know we do this every year, then the government should take relevant decision from its end before hand," he added.
The Goa Meat Complex, the state's only government-run abattoir, has not been functional for several months due to a litigation.
(ANI)
