Name And Shame

The rotten meat scandal has shaken public confidence in Kashmir's entire food supply chain, sent shockwaves through its hospitality industry, and left honest businesses reeling. Restaurants report an 80 percent crash in footfall, home delivery services have seen orders dry up, and thousands of jobs are now at risk. In a Valley where in recent years, eating out had become part of urban culture and tourism depended on its cuisine, this is nothing short of an economic and social crisis.

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The welcome part is that the scandal has been exposed. The food safety authorities have finally been forced to confront the rot, literally and figuratively, in how meat is procured and sold. But exposure alone is not enough. If the guilty remain faceless and unnamed, suspicion falls on everyone. When the public does not know who the culprits are, every butcher, poultry dealer, restaurant, and home delivery service gets painted with the same brush. That is unfair to honest traders who play by the rules and are now paying the price for the greed of a few.