Haridwar, April 3 Ahead of the upcoming Ardh Kumbh in Uttarakhand, the Haridwar administration has proposed relocating all raw meat shops operating within the city limits to Sarai village, located on the outskirts.
Haridwar Mayor Kiran Jaiswal told
According to the Haridwar Municipal Corporation bylaws, the sale and consumption of meat, liquor, and eggs are already prohibited within a five-kilometer radius of Har Ki Pauri, the city's main bathing ghat on the Ganga.
Jaiswal said that all shops selling raw meat within the urban area would be shifted to Sarai village once the proposal is approved by the board.
She added that although the municipal corporation has only issued licenses for 20 meat shops, many more are operating illegally in the city.
"This not only creates unhygienic conditions but also exacerbates the problem of stray dogs," the mayor said, adding that once the proposal is passed, action will be taken against illegally operating shops and fines will be imposed.
Jaiswal further said that the issue of serving cooked meat in hotels and roadside eateries will also be discussed during the board meeting.
A large number of open-air meat shops currently operate in the Jwalapur and Jagjitpur areas, with Hindu organizations frequently staging protests demanding their removal.
Mahant Ravindra Puri, president of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad and chairman of the Mansa Devi Temple Trust, welcomed the proposal, saying that crores of devotees are expected to visit Haridwar during the Ardh Kumbh, and the presence of meat and liquor shops in the city hurts religious sentiments.
State Chief Secretary Anand Vardhan also said that all necessary steps would be taken to ensure that religious sentiments are not hurt during the Kumbh Mela, including the relocation of meat shops from the city's urban areas.
