By TCN Special Correspondent,
Lucknow: Local authorities remained on toes as senior cabinet minister for urban development Azam Khan is likely to visit Meerut on Friday. Though he holds eight departments, the focus is likely to be on slaughter house in Meerut.
The Slaughter House of Meerut which was owned by Meerut Municipal Corporation and operated by former MLA Haji Yaqoob Qureshi was situated at Hapur Road and has been razed to ground by civic authorities at the directives of Azam Khan. Established in 1956 the slaughter house remained the centre of politics in Meerut. Known as Kamela in local parlance, it drew lines among the communities and political parties. You are either supporting Kamela or opposing it.
Azam Khan took a review meeting after the demolition of kamela but from Lucknow. Khan monitored everything minutely from his ministry’s office. The kamela was razed and was shifted 15 kms away at Ghosipura locality. Still Haji Yaqoob Qureshi operates it through his AL Faheem Meatex Private Limited.
Azam will visit Meerut on Friday. There are reports that the land cleared from Kamela will be utilised for constructing a girls degree college. Sources claimed that already a proposal in this regard has been sent by Meerut Municipal Corporation to the urban development ministry headed by Azam Khan. A corpus of Rs two lakhs has been earmarked for the school. Local residents mainly Muslims too are expected to readily accept the proposal.
Meanwhile, Haji Yaqoob Qureshi claimed that he has no objection over the shifting of the new kamela. “We are doing our business there and we are happy. We have got open space and there is no habitat. We are also following all provisions for pollution control and others,” he said.
His detractors claimed that the new kamela has been authorised for only 350 animals slaughtering per day. But it is slaughtering more than 1000 animals. The slaughtering is only for local consumption but meat is being sent to processing plant and for export. Haji Yaqoob Qureshi, however, denies all these reports.