NEW DELHI: Meat shops should not be allowed to remain open during Navratri from Tuesday to April 11, South Delhi Municipal Corporation Mayor Mukesh Suryan pronounced, even as he asked the municipal commissioner to ensure enforcement of his directive.
In a letter, dated April 4, to South MCD commissioner Gyanesh Bharti, Suryan said that devotees of goddess Durga observe fast during Navratri with a strict vegetarian diet and abstain from non-vegetarian food items, alcohol and also certain spices. To ensure that the devotees are not offended, meat shops should be closed during the Navratri festival in the area under the jurisdiction of South MCD, the mayor said. The action was also necessary to maintain cleanliness in and around the temples, he asserted.
“During Navratri, people visit temples to pay respect to the goddess and forgo even the use of onion and garlic in their diet, and the sight of meat being sold in open or near temples makes them uncomfortable. Their religious sentiments are also hurt when they come across meat shops or when they have to bear the foul smell of meat on their way to offer daily prayers to the goddess,” the letter stated. “Moreover, some meat shops dump waste in the gutter or by the roadside, which stray dogs feed on. It is not only unhygienic but an appalling sight for passersby.”
“Keeping in view the sentiments and feelings of the general public, necessary directions may be issued to the officers concerned to take necessary action for the closure of meat shops during the nine day period of navratri festival extending from April 2 to April 11 2022,” he wrote.
According to SDMC officials, while it’s just a letter from the mayor, it can be complied with only when it becomes an order, which is approved by the commissioner. “Such letters are just requests, which hold value only if they are approved by the executive. So far, there has been no word from the commissioner’s office on the mayor’s letter,” said a senior official.
The SDMC commissioner did not respond to calls and messages for a response. When Suryan asked about the letter, he said that he stood by his request. “Coming across meat shops that often do the chopping in the open hurts the sentiments of those fasting during the nine-day festival and it’s my request that these shops be closed just during this period,” the mayor said and added that an order would be issued soon.