Noida, Ghaziabad street vendors drop non-veg items amid Kanwar Yatra: Report

The annual Kanwar Yatra began on July 11 this year, with the Uttar Pradesh government expecting a record turnout of nearly 60 million devotees.

With the onset of the Sawan month and the surge of Kanwar Yatra activity, street food vendors across Noida and Ghaziabad are reportedly removing non-vegetarian items from their menus, voluntarily.

Though no official directive has been issued, several vendors have said that the decision has been made in order to avoid confrontation and maintain religious harmony during the auspicious period.

The impact is being felt across the region’s popular food hubs, including Noida’s Sector 132 and Ghaziabad’s Indirapuram, where once-familiar sights and smells of butter chicken, kebabs, and egg rolls have been replaced with vegetarian fare like paneer tikka and soya chaap, it has been learnt from a Times of India report.

“We didn’t wait for anyone to warn us this time...we’ve decided to only serve vegetarian items during sawan," a momo vendor near North India Mall in Indirapuram has been cited in this report.

Notably, this move isn't limited to locations along kanwar routes.

At Swarn Jayanti Park, another bustling food spot, vendors have stopped serving egg fried rice and chicken rolls. The decision, vendors say, is a combination of religious sensitivity, practical economics, and fear of losing business in case of disruptions.

The unease has intensified following a recent protest in Ghaziabad, where members of a vigilante group reportedly confronted staff at KFC and Nazeer Foods outlets, demanding that they serve only vegetarian food during the holy month.

The incident prompted several small eateries in Vasundhara and nearby areas to quietly drop non-vegetarian offerings as a precautionary measure.

The annual Kanwar Yatra began on July 11 this year, with the Uttar Pradesh government expecting a record turnout of nearly 60 million devotees. Of these, around seven million are anticipated to be women, according to officials.

Delhi continues to be a major transit hub for kanwariyas, with authorities projecting a footfall of 15 to 20 lakh pilgrims passing through the capital. The devotees, many travelling barefoot, are headed towards the sacred Ganga ghats in Haridwar and Rishikesh, halting at multiple pitstops equipped with tents, medical camps, and food stalls.

At more established markets such as Brahmaputra Market and Windsor Street, restaurants are still serving non-vegetarian food but have discreetly removed it from public display. “If someone specifically asks for it, we’ll serve it, but we’re keeping it low-key," one restaurant owner has been cited in the report.

According to Varun Khera, president of the National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI) in Noida, cited in the above report, the decision by some eateries to refrain from offering meat is a strategic one.

The Uttar Pradesh government has also introduced a new digital transparency measure this year. All eateries and food stalls operating along the 540-kilometre Kanwar route, from Meerut to Muzaffarnagar, have been directed to display a QR code. Scanning the code will provide details such as the name of the owner, FSSAI licence status, hygiene inspection reports, and whether the food served is vegetarian or non-vegetarian.

The directive has, however, drawn legal attention.

The Supreme Court has sought a response from the Uttar Pradesh government on a plea challenging the order. The apex court had earlier stayed similar directives issued by BJP-ruled states, including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh, which required eateries along religious routes to publicly display the names and details of owners and staff.