Over two weeks of propaganda and hype have not been able to give the much-needed push to the poultry industry, even after the ban on the sale of chicken was lifted. Poultry shops at VIP Market, New Market, Jaggubabur Bazaar and Landsdowne Market presented a rather grim picture.
“During normal times, we sell about 30 to 35 chickens everyday and over 40 birds on weekends. But now the business has hit an all-time low. At present, we are selling about 7 to 10 birds,” said Ashok Das, a chicken vendor at Lansdowne Market.
Restaurants like Mocambo, Flury’s, Mainland China, and Oh Calcutta have reintroduced chicken in their menu. Debashish Ghosh of Mainland China said, “We have reintroduced chicken only a week ago. But people are still apprehensive. Only 30 per cent of our non-vegeteranian customers are ordering chicken.”
Chicken and egg roll sellers have also been badly hit. The chef at Hot Kati Roll said that mutton roll still continued to rule the roost, but chicken and egg rolls were just about picking up. “We have not yet started using chicken as the ban is still on in some districts,” said A K Ganguly, a customer at Jaggubabur Bazaar.
Chicken was priced at Rs 30 to 35 last week but this week, picked up pace to sell at Rs 40 to 45.