Beef lovers take to social media to show support

The city is among the key beef markets in Tamil Nadu because of a sizeable population of Muslims, Dalits and consumers of other religious and cultural backgrounds.

“The demand is usually high on Sundays, but following the possible ban, we had record sales on Saturday,” said M. Aslam, who owns one of the more than 350 beef stalls in the city. The crowd was also unusually high in the 20-odd hotels wellknown for beef dishes. “Our customers ate beef biryani and other beef dishes instead of chicken or mutton, took selfies and posted them online in protest,” said N. Inzamam, an eatery owner near Town Hall.  

With the start of Ramzan, the holy month for fasting which started on Saturday, Muslims in the city were quite concerned. “Beef is the cheapest meat, much more affordable than chicken and fish. We will be affected if the ban is strictly followed,” said Kajah Moideen, a resident of Kottaimedu in the city.

On normal days as many as 300 cows and bulls are slaughtered at the two Coimbatore Corporation slaughter houses at Ganapathy and Vellalore. The number climbs to 350 to 400 on auspicious occasions, especially throughout Ramzan. “We cannot keep track of the number of cattle that is slaughtered on Ramzan. In Coimbatore alone, it could cross 1,000 heads of cattle,” president of Kongu Maavatta Maatu Iriachi Vyabarigal Sangam E.E. Ismail told DT Next. 

Farmers too will be affected by the ban as the animals slaughtered here are primarily bought from Tirupur, Erode and Namakkal districts. Apart from local slaughter they are also transported to Kerala in large numbers. “What are we supposed to do with aged cows that cannot yield milk? Now we must watch our animals die as we cannot sell them,” lamented C. Rajkumar, a farmer from Pollachi.