Ahead of the Chaitra Navratri festival beginning on March 30, the Uttar Pradesh government has issued a directive to shut down illegal slaughterhouses and prohibit the sale of meat within 500 meters of religious locations.
On April 6, Ram Navami, stricter measures will be put in place, with a total ban on animal slaughter and meat sales.
Principal Secretary of the Urban Development Department Amrit Abhijat has directed all the District Magistrates, Police Commissioners and Municipal Commissioners to immediately close the slaughterhouses and enforce the ban on meat sale near religious places, PTI cited a UP government statement as saying.
Referring to the directives issued in 2014 and 2017, the Yogi Adityanath government has stated that illegal animal slaughter and sale of meat near religious places will be completely banned.
District-level committees have been formed under the chairmanship of district magistrates in order to make this decision effective. These will include officials from the police, Pollution Control Board, Animal Husbandry Department, Transport Department, Labour Department, Health Department and Food Safety Administration.
Under the provisions of the UP Municipal Corporation Act 1959 and the Food Safety Act 2006 and 2011, the Yogi Adityanath government has directed the officials to take strict punitive action against the violators, the statement said.
The nine-day Hindu festival of Navratri dedicated to Goddess Durga will commence on Sunday (March 30).
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