Hyderabad, Aug. 14: Kalyani will never be the same again, lament biryani lovers.

The sale of Kalyani (beef) biryani has been hit since the Centre revealed plans to bring in a bill banning cow slaughter.

“We used to sell nearly 2 quintals (200 kg) of Kalyani every day, but the demand has suddenly reduced to less than a quintal,” says the owner of Azizia , a reputed biryani joint in Nampally.

The price of Kalyani has jumped overnight, from Rs 10 a plate to Rs 16 per plate.

Even though buffalo meat is also beef, the move to ban cow slaughter has led to prices shooting up in Hyderabad and Secunderabad. The twin cities consume about 25 tonnes of beef a day, the equivalent of about 700-800 animals.

Nasir Ahmed, who owns Madina beef shop at the African cavalry guards, says the cost of beef has increased from Rs 40 per kg to nearly Rs 70 per kg.

“I used to sell nearly 100 kg a day earlier but cannot sell even 25 kg (now). People prefer gosht (mutton) and chicken to beef,” he says.

Speaking about the proposal to ban the killing of cows, Ahmed says: “We hear about such regulations whenever elections are at hand. Later, nobody bothers about it, just like what happened with the Babri mosque issue. But the poor man is at the receiving end as it is his food that is costing more.”

Ahmed Quereshi, who owns a beef shop at Kavadiguda, says his sale of beef used to average nearly three quintals a day.

“But I am selling around two quintals (now) and am unable to pay for the four workers who assist me in culling and gutting the meat.”

Mohammed Abdul Gaffoor, owner of Nimrah beef parlour in Bahadurpura, says the government has done a terrible thing. “Now they will catch us and harass us for selling buffalo meat as well since it is very difficult to distinguish between the meat of a cow and a buffalo.”

Gafoor is a wholesaler who used to sell nearly three tonnes of beef and has a chain of hotels and many shops around Hyderabad. The wholesaler says selling cow meat has become uneconomical.

“A cow yields around 45-60 kg of meat while a buffalo gives around 75-90 kg. Also, there is no demand for cow meat because of superstition and fear of the law.”

But Gafoor said cow meat was in great demand in the Gulf.

B. Sadanand, general manager of Al Kabeer abattoir, located 60 km from here, said: “We export around 15,000 tonnes of beef every year to Gulf countries. We do not sell anything locally.”

Allana, the other major meat exporter in Andhra Pradesh, said it exports around 35,000 tonnes per annum.