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The Varanasi Municipal Corporation has announced that all meat shops in the city will remain closed during the upcoming Navratri festival and that the move, approved by the executive board, will be backed by awareness campaigns and enforcement drives during the festival.
Municipal Commissioner Akshat Verma spoke to ANI and said that preparations are underway to enforce the order. "As per the decision taken by the executive board, we have decided that the meat shops in the municipal area will remain closed during Navratri. We are working to implement that," Verma said. To ensure compliance, the civic body will first launch a public awareness campaign. "We have our vans that will move around the city to monitor the situation. If any meat shops are found open during the period, we will take appropriate action," he added. In recent years, several cities in Uttar Pradesh have enforced temporary bans on the sale of meat during major Hindu festivals to maintain religious sanctity and public sentiment. Meanwhile, in the national capital, BJP MLA from Delhi's Trilokpuri, Ravi Kant, has urged the closure of meat shops in East Delhi for the duration of Chaitra Navratri, which begins on March 30. In a letter to the District Magistrate of East District, Shastri Nagar, Kant requested that meat shops be shut during the nine-day festival to maintain sanctity and ensure cleanliness across Delhi He also highlighted the significance of the upcoming Chaitra Navratri and Hindu New Year celebrations beginning March 30. In his letter, he emphasised that the entire Sanatan Hindu community, devotees of Goddess Durga, observe these nine days with devotion, fasting, and reverence. Additionally, Kant mentioned that April 6 marks the birth anniversary of Lord Ram, which is celebrated on the ninth day of the Shukla Paksha in the Chaitra month. This occasion is also revered by the entire Sanatan community. Muslim Cleric Chaudhary Ifraheem Husain, while responding to BJP MLA Ravi Kant, had earlier expressed his support for the closure of meat shops during the Navratri festival and said that the Muslim community would have no objection to the move as it respects the sentiments of the Hindu community. Chaudhary Ifraheem Husain said that every religion has its own sentiments and faith and stressed the importance of interfaith respect. Speaking to ANI, Chaudhary Ifraheem Husain said, "Muslims have no objection to the move as it respects the sentiments of the Hindu community. This is a matter of administration. The Muslim community will have no objection to this because every religion has its own sentiments and faith attached to it, and we all must respect it. Navratri, which means 'nine nights' in Sanskrit, is dedicated to the worship of Goddess Durga and her nine avatars, known as Navdurga. Hindus observe four Navratris throughout the year, but only two- Chaitra Navratri and Shardiya Navratri- are widely celebrated, as they coincide with the changing of the seasons. The nine-day festival, which is also known as Rama Navratri, ends on Rama Navami, Lord Ram's birthday. All nine days of Navratri are devoted to honouring the nine incarnations of the goddess Shakti. In 2025, Eid-ul-Fitr and Chaitra Navratri, a Hindu festival, are likely to overlap, with Eid potentially falling on March 30 or 31, and Navratri beginning on March 30 and ending on April 7. (ANI)
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