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Dehu administration bans sale of meat and fish
The rule, which will come into effect immediately, any hotel or business selling cooked or raw meat will be fined ₹5,000 in the first instance and ₹25,000, subsequently.
Anyone selling fish and meat in the village of Dehu will be fined up to ₹25,000, a circular issued by the Nagar Panchayat on April 1, has stated.
The rule, which will come into effect immediately, any hotel or business selling cooked or raw meat will be fined ₹5,000 in the first instance and ₹25,000, subsequently. The rule only extends to the town limits, officials said.
Dehu is an important pilgrimage site in Maharashtra and is the birthplace of Sant Tukaram, one of the state’s renowned poet-saint who lived in the 17th century.
“This is the birthplace of Tukaram maharaj and he propagated non-violence. So in his birthplace, killing of animals should not take place. If some is found selling chicken and mutton, he or she will be fined ₹5,000 in the first instance and in second instance, the fine will be ₹25,000,” said Smita Chavan, president of the Dehu nagar panchayat.
“Those who wish to eat [non vegetarian food] can make it in their homes and meat will be available outside the town limit,” she added.
“Since Warkaris from all over the country visit the holy place, we don’t want to hurt their sentiments and we have disallowed the sale of meat and fish in town limit. People who want to eat non vegetarian food can get it from shops outside the town limit,” Dr Prashant Jadhav, chief executive officer, Dehu Municipal Council said.
Warkaris are pilgrims of the deity Vitthal, of whom Sant Tukaram was a devotee.
Atiq Shaikh, a restauranteur in Dehu said that a majority of his clients were vegetarian. “Most people ask for vegetarian food. The demand for non-vegetarian food is less. Many people prefer to eat meat at their home.”
On Friday, many fish sellers put up their shops as usual and officials from the municipal council instructed them to put their stalls outside the town limit which is three kilometres away.
A similar rule was in place from 1999 to 2004, but was discontinued by gram panchayat.
