Koraput Collector withdraws order banning sale of non-veg items on Republic Day
BHUBANESWAR: A day after the Koraput collector's directive prohibiting the sale of non-vegetarian items across the district on the Republic Day drew sharp reactions, the order was withdrawn on Sunday.
Koraput Collector Manoj Satyawan Mahajan informed that the directive was revoked.
In a letter to the tehsildars, block development officers and executive officers of the district, Mahajan said the prohibition on the sale of meat, chicken, fish, eggs and other non-vegetarian food items on the occasion of the 77th Republic Day Celebration, 2026, in Koraput was issued purely on the suggestion of the district-level Republic Day preparatory committee.
"However, after due consideration, the letter issued on Friday (January 23) is revoked with immediate effect", read the latest order.
This comes after the earlier order had not explained the rationale behind the ban on the sale of non-vegetarian items.
It was also unclear if the ban applied to non-vegetarian food in eateries and hotels across the district on the Republic Day. The order went viral on social media and drew sharp reactions from the netizens and politicians.
Congress MP Saptagiri Ulaka had said on X, "An elected republic cannot honour the Constitution by curbing constitutional freedoms. The ban on the sale of non-veg food on Republic Day in Koraput is arbitrary, exclusionary and unconstitutional. What was the necessity? Why single out a tribal dominated, culturally diverse district?"
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee also took to X and said, "Requesting honourable collector to write to all hens to not lay eggs, and tigers and lions to do a full day fasting on Monday".
Notably, many netizens questioned how the government could impose restrictions on the food choices of the people.