Mutton sellers call off their strike, will open shops today in Kolhapur

KOLHAPUR: Operators of mutton shops have finally called off their strike and are set to open their establishment from Tuesday onwards.
The mutton shops were closed since the last eight days. Operators of mutton shops were pressing their demand for increasing the price of meat.
A forum of citizens and activists had demanded that mutton should not be charged beyond Rs 480 per kg.Those selling mutton said that they could not afford to sell meat at this rate, especially when their counterparts were selling a kg of mutton for Rs 540 in the rural areas.
With the surge in the price of mutton, the iconic Kolhapuri dishes went off the charts of the hotels and restaurants, much to the dismay of the citizens as well as hoteliers. Owners of hotels and restaurants, especially those popular for dishing out scrumptious mutton delicacies, claimed that they suffered quite a loss as the footfall in their establishments slumped.
On Monday, representatives from both the forum of activists and mutton sellers convened a meeting and discussed the issue at length.
Vijay Kamble, who runs a mutton shop, said, "We demanded Rs 540 per Kg. However, the activists claimed that the price was too high. Both the mutton sellers and the activists decided at Rs 520 for a kg of mutton. We are going to open our shops on Tuesday. We have also decided that based on the market of goats and sheeps, the rate for mutton will be revised in the future."
The activists stated that some shops in the Rajarampuri area had started selling mutton at Rs 420 per kg. However, they could not come up with an alternate arrangement to cater to the demand of both citizens and hoteliers.
"We have agreed on Rs 520 for a kg of mutton but not without certain conditions. The sellers should ensure cleanliness in their shops. The animal slaughtered should be verified by the veterinary office of Kolhapur Municipal Corporation. The weighing machines should be calibrated," said one of the activists of the forum.
The civic administration had informally conveyed to both sides to arrive at a conclusion and not to make it a big issue as stopping sale of mutton was not only hurting the sentiments of citizens and visitors alike, but also eating into the business of the hotels specialising in iconic mutton delicacies.