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Anxious over a call by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) mayor to shut meat shops during Navratri, confused over whether any official order was issued, and afraid of being targeted by vigilantes, meat shop owners at south Delhi’s Indian National Airways (INA) Market downed their shutters on Tuesday, an unprecedented move at one of the most popular meat destinations in the Capital.
Even though the South MCD clarified on Tuesday that no formal order was issued to this effect, shopkeepers said they went by instinct to “avoid any trouble”.
SDMC mayor Mukesh Suryan on Monday evening said that he has written to the civic body’s commissioner to shut all meat shops in the corporation’s jurisdiction during the nine-day Hindu festival as it “hurt the religious sentiments” of people who fast and avoid eating non-vegetarian food and some spices.
“I have not come across any official directive to close meat shops,” an SDMC official said Tuesday.
Shopkeepers said some mediapersons who visited the market on Monday night suggested that if they open their shops, their licences could be cancelled, adding to the confusion. “We didn’t open shops in the morning because we were scared. Some more people from the press came to the market in the morning, and we downed our shutters since we did not want to be seen selling meat and risk cancellation of licence,” said Mohammed Farooq, 22, who works at a shop in the market.
The shops were finally opened around 3.30pm when Ramesh Bhutani, the president of INA Market Traders Association, told them that there was no formal order by the corporation, Farooq added.
Bhutani said, “All the 38 shops were closed in the morning. They (the traders) came to me around 3pm, and I told them to open till there’s no formal order. We will shut whenever there’s an order,” he said.
Krishan Kumar, 62, who has been running his chicken shop for the last 40 years, said, “This market (INA) has never witnessed a ban in the last four decades. I am hearing such a statement for the first time,” he said.
Narinder Singh, 40, who runs a meat shop in the market, said when none of the traders opened their shops on Tuesday morning, he went check on shops in Kotla Mubarakpur, Hauz Khas and Green Park. “They were all open. I don’t know why we were told such a thing about the possibility of license cancellation. It felt like harassment,” he said.
Both Kumar and Singh said that instead of making statements, the markets should be informed at least three days in advance before there is talk of implementing any such move. “Shutting shops at a day’s notice would have caused losses running into lakhs of rupees. And we have barely recovered from the impact of pandemic,” said Singh.
The row comes at a time when similar demands for bans on non-vegetarian food have roiled other states such as Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. In Karnataka, right-wing groups are also protesting against many shops selling halal-certified meat and calling for boycotting such establishments.
Some customers at the market called Suryan’s statement irresponsible and said the authorities should learn to respect choice.
Ashfaq, a 65-year-old customer, said that a person should be responsible while making such statements. “In a time like this when there are so many right-wing groups looking to act at the slightest provocation. One should be responsible while making such statements because they (vigilantes) will not care if there is an order or not. They will just read a statement and come to these shops to vandalise and terrorise people,” he said.
Another customer, Sanjay Kumar, said, “What about my feelings because they are hurt by such a statement… I love to eat meat every day and one cannot dictate what I get to eat. This is a market where foreigners and residents of all states of the country who are living in Delhi come to buy meat.”
A South MCD official, however, explained that a large number of meat shops remain closed during Navratra due to a drop in sales. . “Even on Tuesdays, a smaller number of shops remains open as many people abstain from eating meat on that day. We have not issued any orders to close down shops. If anyone wants to voluntarily close their outlets closed, we have no role in that,” the zonal official said, requesting anonymity.
A senior veterinary department official stated that there are around 1,600 licensed meat shops in SDMC areas. “Unlike the liquor policy, which specifies the days on which liquor outlets should remain shut, the meat shop licensing policy has no such provision. Even if it is enforced, the matter can be legally challenged. Moreover, as per licensing regulations, no meat shop licence is granted within the radius of 150 metres near a temple or place of worship,” the official said.
Mohammad Arshad Qureshi, who heads the Delhi Meat Merchant Association, said that politics is being played by the municipal corporation functionaries on the matter, and the closing or opening of meat shops is a matter of choice. “Tuesday is generally a holiday for meat shops. Even the sales go down drastically during Navratra as a large number of customers do not consume meat. Many meat shop operators voluntarily close their shops but the point is that no one should be forced to close shops,” Qureshi said.
According to the association’s estimate, there are around 5,000-6,000 meat shops in the Capital.
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