Butchers & meat shop owners dupe gullible customers in Delhi

New Delhi: With the ban on old high currency notes and an alleged shortage in supply of livestock food like chicken, mutton and fish, the meat shop owners and butchers are reportedly duping gullible customers in the name cash crunch in the city. The situation was no different in National Capital Region (NCR) where the small scale meat shop owners, vendors and butchers are forcing common man to shell out extra.

While many livestock food traders and agents in Ghazipur Market hoping that their stacked stock of livestock food may get potential wholesale buyers, on the contrary, a few city-based butchers and meat shop owners were allegedly seen minting money on Friday by selling chicken and mutton at sky-rocketing prices on the pretext of shortage in supply and non-availability of new currency. Speaking to this newspaper, a meat shop owner who has been selling one kg chicken at Rs 220 while mutton at Rs 500, which is double the normal pricing, said, “We can’t help it as there is a shortage of supply in the market while the demand in the market remained same. We are left with no other option then to sell at a higher price.”

When questioned as to how there is a shortage in supply as there is enough stock present in Ghazipur chicken and mutton market, Saleem (name changed), who owns a meat shop in Arjun Nagar, quickly changed his tone and pointed at the unavailability of new currency in the business.

Alike, Saleem, Nadeem, who sells chicken in Malviya Nagar echoed the same sentiments. “Hum kya kar sakte hain? Modiji ne kiya jo kiya (What can we do? Whatever was done, it was done by Modiji). Since we are not getting any supply, it is obvious that the seller would struggle meeting the demand. It is not us who had surged the price but the government’s inability which has led to the problem,” added Nadeem.

Meanwhile, the situation in other parts of the city and in national capital region was no different. The meat shop owners are costing bomb hence and in the midst of the crisis, the citizens are the one who are being cheated and have been made the scapegoat of the move.