Rotten meat scandal, public deserves answers: Mirwaiz

• Seeks clarity on status of investigation and food safety reforms

SRINAGAR: Mirwaiz-e Kashmir Molvi Umar Farooq in his Friday sermon addressed at Jama Masjid Srinagar today asked the authorities about the status of the investigation into the very disturbing rotten meat issue in which the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) had seized tonnes of rotten, unlabelled and possibly unlawful meat being sold openly across the valley.

This shocking revelation deeply shook the trust of people that such large-scale malpractice was allowed to go on and unchecked for so long and in response to it, authorities promised a thorough inquiry into the incident to expose and bring the culprits to book. The issue also highlighted the serious issues with food safety and regulation in the state. Mirwaiz said that it has been more than four months but so far we have not heard anything about the investigation.

He asked the administration to come clean on the matter. Mirwaiz said it is the right of people to know what did the test results of the seized meat reveal and if the culprits have been identified and booked and their businesses shut down. Is such meat no longer in the market? he asked.Mirwaiz said the administration should make all this public so that people are reassured and their faith restored.

Accountability demands public transparency, so the authorities should inform the public about the findings of the investigation and the corrective measures with regard to food safety and regulation that they have taken after this serious incident.