Now, Karnataka government to help set up mobile meat stalls

Amid the pandemic, there is some good news for people who depend on sheep for a livelihood.

The government has decided to implement a scheme in which mobile meat stalls will be provided to the sheep and wool producers’ cooperative societies.

These mobile stalls can be used by vendors to sell meat and other related products.

The scheme will be implemented through the Karnataka Sheep & Wool Development Corporation Ltd under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana – Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sectors Rejuvenation (RKVY-RAFTAAR) scheme.

According to the Animal Husbandry department, 200 fully-equipped mobile meat stalls will be provided, one for every sheep and wool producers’ cooperative society that will be selected based on an eligibility criteria.

Each stall will cost Rs 11 lakh, of which the government will pay Rs 5.5 lakh and the other Rs 5.5 lakh will have to be borrowed as a loan from any financial institution.

The stall will come with cooking-range stainless steel, four brass burners with separate grill and over chambers operating on gas, a thermostatically-controlled vitreous enamelled over chamber, spring-loaded tempered glass for safety, a deep freezer, meat mixer and so on.

In the wake of the lockdown last year, the Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) had partnered with the Karnataka Sheep & Wool Development Corporation to introduce mobile meat shops, calling it ‘Meat on Wheels’.

In 2019, the ICAR-National Research Centre on Meat in Hyderabad inked a memorandum of understanding with the Corporation for the implementation of the mobile meat stall scheme for SC/ST beneficiaries.

The scheme is now open for beneficiaries across social and caste groups.

Recently, the State Level Bankers’ Committee took stock of the scheme. Officials say 116 applications have been received along with sanction letters by the financial institutions.

Officials hope that the current Covid-induced lockdown will not come in the way as the government has allowed pushcarts to operate between 6 am and 6 pm.