Mirwaiz Umar Farooq voices concern on rotten meat again finding entry into Kashmir

Srinagar, Nov 15 (IANS) After a year, the rotten meat controversy is back in Kashmir Valley, with senior religious leader and chief cleric, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, on Sunday voicing concern over the resurfacing of attempts to bring such a product there.

“The seizure of rotten meat once again, this time from railway cargo arriving from Delhi, has shocked people and raised serious concerns. The prompt action of the police officers involved in the seizure is commendable. Yet, despite last year’s public outrage and assurances from the authorities of stringent safeguards and action against those involved, how does it continue unchecked? Why are those behind these practices not being exposed and strictly punished?” the Mirwaiz said in a post on X.

“These are the questions troubling people, causing anxiety. The government must come clean on it and place all facts in the public domain. It must fix accountability and take strict action against the perpetrators of this heinous crime to restore people’s trust in the food they consume.”

Around 1,600 kg of rotten meat packed in 44 boxes, found unfit for human consumption due to a severe foul smell and failure to maintain prescribed cold-chain conditions, was seized by the authorities at the Budgam railway station on Saturday. Joint operation by the Jammu and Kashmir Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Railway Police, railway authorities, and the Budgam district administration. Action

The consignment was seized, verified by a veterinary doctor, and subsequently destroyed. An FIR has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

This follows a string of similar large-scale food safety crackdowns across the Kashmir Valley — including recent seizures of unpermitted food colours in kebabs and meatballs in Srinagar, as well as prior major hauls that heavily impacted local restaurant and meat market businesses.

In July and August 2025, a major food safety scandal hit the Kashmir Valley when authorities seized and destroyed roughly 12,000 kg (12 tonnes) of rotten, unlabelled, and chemically treated meat across Jammu and Kashmir.

The crackdown revealed an organised supply chain bringing cheap, rejected meat from outside the Union Territory into local eateries without proper cold-chain storage.

–IANS

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