Slaughterhouses to shut in Rajkot, Daman & Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli

“To maintain public peace, law, and order and to avoid hurting the religious sentiment of the public at large, I, Bhanu Prabha, District Magistrate of Diu in the exercise of powers conferred upon me under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code,1973, hereby order that all Chicken, Mutton, Fish shops and slaughter Houses shall remain closed and all retail sale of liquor shall be prohibited on January 22nd, 2024 for 1 (One) day,” the notification read. The administration has warned that violators will be liable to prosecution under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

DMs of UTs of Daman Dadra and Nagar Haveli also issued similar notifications. In Rajkot, an official release stated that office-bearers of the RMC have decided to order the slaughterhouse and fish market in the city to shut on Monday. “The office-bearers of Rajkot Municipal Corporation have decided that slaughterhouses and fish market in Rajkot shall remain shut on Monday, January 22, 2024 in view of the re-consecration of Ram temple constructed in Shree Ram Janmabhoomi “Ayodhya” and it will be enforced strictly,” a release issued by the personal assistant of mayor Nayna Pedhadiya said.

The release, however, didn’t cite any law or resolution empowering the office-bearers to issue such an order. When asked about the decision, the Mayor told The Indian Express, “We and the municipal commissioner were together when we decided that the issue of Ramjanmabhumi which was in limbo for years has finally been resolved and people are celebrating it as a festival in India, and abroad. Rajkot has become Ram mayee (one with Lord Rama).”

When asked about the law underpinning the decision to ban certain food items, the Mayor said, “It is for one day only. Being a Hindu, I personally don’t consider non-veg as a food item.”

Incidentally, the RMC runs a slaughterhouse in the city. However, the civic body keeps that as well as other meat shops shut on four Mondays of the holy month of Shravan, Ram Navami, Gandhi Jayanti, and seven days of Paryushan, the holy week for Jainism, in compliance with a state government letter of 1985.

Later in the day, Rajkot Municipal Commissioner Anand Patel issues a notification, citing the 1985 letter of the Urban Development and Urban Housing Department of government and another letter written to his office by RMC’s secretary branch.