Image for representation onlyNedumbana (Kollam): The BJP wants the abattoirs to go. The CPM responds by cooking beef in public. The beef brand of politics is playing out in a smaller scale in the Nedumbana panchayat in Kollam district.
The BJP harped on its pet peeve against slaughter houses by calling for a hartal in the panchayat on Friday, accusing local authorities of turning a blind eye towards abattoirs which it claims to be unauthorized. The party says that unlicensed vendors were selling meat in panchayat stalls.
The vendors slaughter the animals at Kulappadam and transport the meat to Nedumbana, the BJP said in a memorandum submitted to the panchayat secretary. The party workers alleged that some traders were even selling the meat of animals which died of diseases.
Animal waste is strewn by the wayside in the absence of a waste management plant in Nedumbana, BJP Kundara Mandalam president P Sivan said. He accused the CPM workers of politicizing the issue.
The CPM responded to the hartal by organizing a public beef party. The party alleged that the BJP was trying to get beef banned in the panchayat. Party workers cooked beef and distributed it in the streets to whoever cared as a sign of protest.
The police have camped in the area in view of the mounting tension between the two parties.
The Congress had a different take on the issue. The problems were sparked by a waste management crisis in the absence of a treatment plant to dispose of animal remains and other hazardous waste, Thrikkovilvattom block president A Nazimuddin Labba said.
