In preparation for the Ardh Kumbh next year, the Haridwar administration plans to relocate all raw meat shops operating within city limits to Sarai village.
Haridwar Mayor Kiran Jaiswal said a proposal has been prepared and will be placed before the Municipal Corporation Board during its meeting on April 6.
Under the Haridwar Municipal Corporation bylaws, the sale and consumption of meat, liquor, and eggs are already banned within a five-kilometre radius of Har Ki Pauri, the city’s main bathing ghat on the Ganga.
Jaiswal said all raw meat shops functioning in urban areas will be relocated to Sarai village once the board approves the proposal. She added that while the municipal corporation has issued licences to only 20 meat shops, several others are operating illegally across the city.
“This not only creates unhygienic conditions but also increases the problem of stray dogs,” the mayor said, adding that strict action and penalties will be imposed on illegal shops after approval of the plan.
Jaiswal further said the issue of serving cooked meat in hotels and roadside eateries will also be taken up during the upcoming board meeting.
Several open-air meat shops currently operate in the Jwalapur and Jagjitpur areas, where Hindu organisations have frequently staged protests demanding their relocation.
Mahant Ravindra Puri, president of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad and chairman of the Mansa Devi Temple Trust, welcomed the proposal, saying crores of devotees are expected during the Ardh Kumbh and the presence of meat and liquor shops hurts religious sentiments.
State Chief Secretary Anand Vardhan said the government will take all necessary steps to ensure religious sentiments are respected during the Kumbh Mela, including relocating meat shops from the city’s urban areas.
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