Hyderabad: The hotel industry in the city is under pressure from the GHMC with regard to purchase of unstamped meat. Hotel owners have complained to the Mayor that the GHMC is barking up the wrong tree. Instead of cracking down on the source — that is, the illegal slaug-htering of animals, and butchers — the civic body is making hotels pay fines for using meat that is not certified by the GHMC.
It is doing so because those in the slaughtering business are vote banks for both the ruling party and the opposition, the hoteliers cla-im. The GHMC does not enter slaughter houses across the city because these are backed by politicians, they say.
S. Venkat Reddy, president of the Telangana Hotel Association, said, “The quantity of meat required and procured by hotels, differs. Some need 10 kg, others more or less. For a small qua-ntity of 5 kg for a hotel located in Gachibowli, the management will not travel all the way to the modern GHMC app-roved slaughter house in Bhoiguda; instead the management would buy from a local vendor.”
He says hotels look at time and cost management. Big hoteliers will not risk business by compromising on the quality of meat, he said, and made the point that if GHMC wants to regulate the industry, it should either construct more slaughter houses in all zones of the city, or stop the slaughtering at the source.
However, the civic body stands by its decision and says it will continue to raid hotels.
Commissioner B Janardhan Reddy, said, “The GHMC warns the owners of hotels and restaurants not to buy meat from illegal slaughter houses. In case of violation found in raids, penalty will be imposed.”
