UP govt bans sale of meat within 500 m of religious places during Navratri

Ahead of the commencement of the nine-day Chaitra Navratri festival on Sunday, 30 March, the Uttar Pradesh government has directed the closure of illegal slaughterhouses and a ban on the sale of meat within 500 metres of religious places.

Special restrictions will be imposed for on 6 April, when animal slaughter and the sale of meat will be completely banned.

Principal secretary to the Uttar Pradesh urban development department Amrit Abhijat has directed all district magistrates, police commissioners and municipal commissioners to immediately close the slaughterhouses and enforce the ban on meat sale near religious places, the Uttar Pradesh government said in a statement on Saturday, 29 March.

Citing the orders issued in 2014 and 2017, the Yogi Adityanath government has clarified that illegal animal slaughter and sale of meat near religious places will be completely prohibited.

To make this decision effective, district-level committees have been formed under the chairmanship of district magistrates. These will include officials from the police, Board, animal husbandry department, transport department, labour department, health department and 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.

"There will be no meat/fish shop within a radius of 500 metres during Navratri. Even outside this radius, they will operate under the terms of the licence. No one will sell in the open. All shops will remain closed on the day of Ram Navami," state director of information and public relations Shishir Singh said in a statement later.

The nine-day Hindu festival of Navratri dedicated to Goddess Durga will commence on Sunday (March 30).

Earlier, on Friday, 28 March, Varanasi Municipal Corporation had — in a first — said that all fish and meat shops within its limits will remain closed during Navratri.

Last year, a similar ban was declared on Ayodhya for the autumn Navratri of October 2024.

Edited PTI inputs