UP leather industry on tenterhooks over action against abattoirs

State pollution board drawing up a list of abattoirs that are flouting norms

Possible action against illegal slaughterhouses in Uttar Pradesh, as promised in the election manifesto of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is keeping the Rs 20,000-crore UP leather industry on tenterhooks.

In its UP Vision Document, the BJP had promised it would shut down illegal and mechanised abattoirs in the state if it came to power. With Yogi Adityanath as chief minister with the support of a three-fourths majority in the Assembly, things are likely to get the head-start once the ministerial portfolios are distributed.

There are about 45 licensed, mechanised slaughterhouses in UP operating in the private sector, with most units having