Meat traders allege they are being harassed for ordering to close their shops without viable alternative arrangements and that no action has been taken against liquor shops
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – Ten meat shop owners were booked for operating near the Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, following a directive from the Varanasi Municipal Corporation (VMC) ordering 26 shops in the area to shut down.
Three days earlier, the VMC had issued notices to establishments within a 2-kilometer radius of the temple, instructing them to cease operations due to alleged “rule violations.”
The notices cited unsanitary conditions, including the open sale of meat, which reportedly caused public unrest and posed potential risks of infectious disease spread. Additionally, the shops were accused of violating Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regulations.
However, the meat shop owners said they were being harassed through orders to close their shops without viable alternative arrangements and that no action has been taken against liquor shops operating within a two-kilometre radius of the temple despite a resolution that explicitly prohibited liquor shops in that area.
Following the VMC’s move, the meat traders including Meraj from Beniabagh, Riyaz Qureshi from Madanpura, and others visited the VMC office on Friday and met the mayor. They said that slaughterhouses were closed in 2017 while licences for trading had also not been issued.
The Mayor asked them to identify alternative locations for their shops and assured them that the MC would allocate them space accordingly. The delegation is scheduled to meet the Mayor next week again on the issue.
Three FIRs were filed against them at the Chowk and Dashashwamedh police stations under Sections 223 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 325 (mischief by killing or maiming animal) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) on the complaint of the municipal veterinary officer, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Kashi Zone) Gaurav Banswal said.
