Row after diktat to close meat shops on I-Day in Kalyan-Dombivali

The KDMC, in its notice, stated that all slaughterhouses and licensed butchers of goats, sheep, chickens, and large animals must remain closed for 24 hours from midnight of August 14 till midnight of August 15

Mumbai: The Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) has issued a notice directing meat shops to remain closed on Independence Day, drawing sharp criticism from the Opposition. NCP (SP) leader Jitendra Awhad announced that he would host a mutton party that day in protest against the decision.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former minister Aaditya Thackeray called for the suspension of the KDMC commissioner for banning non-veg food and taking away the independence to decide one’s food

The KDMC, in its notice, stated that all slaughterhouses and licensed butchers of goats, sheep, chickens, and large animals must remain closed for 24 hours from midnight of August 14 till midnight of August 15. The civic body warned of action under the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act, 1949, if any animal is slaughtered or meat is sold during the specified period.

Deputy Commissioner (Licensing) Kanchan Gaikwad, who signed the order, emphasised that the move was in keeping with long-standing administrative resolutions to ensure public order and observance of important national occasions.

The move drew a sharp reaction from Opposition parties who slammed it as an attempt to impinge on the freedom to eat. NCP (SP) MLA Jitendra Awhad who said, “I am planning to host a mutton party that day. On the day we got freedom, you are taking away our freedom to eat what we want.” He called the decision “nothing but an act of spreading animosity among communities. The people of Kalyan Dombivali will oppose this decision tooth and nail,” he said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former minister Aaditya Thackeray called for the suspension of the KDMC commissioner for banning non-veg food and taking away the independence to decide one’s food. “Who is the commissioner to tell us what to eat and what not to. Bridges are collapsing, roads are in a bad shape and the commissioner is issuing orders to ban certain foods on a certain day,” he said.

Revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said that he needs to check why the order was issued by the KDMC commissioner. “We need to check under which rule and law and using which power the order was issued by the commissioner. It also needs to be checked if there was any demand for such prohibition,” he said.