Delhi meat shops shut during Sawan despite no official order, owners report losses

Mohd Nazir, who runs a shop in Indirapuram, has kept his shutters down since the first day of Sawan. “There was no circular this year, but I’ve been closing my shop for four years now. I rely on rent from another property to manage this period,” he said, pointing to the need for alternative income to stay afloat.

Sanu Qureshi, who owns multiple outlets across NCR, said he received administrative communication on July 10 and shut his shops the next day. “I’ve been doing this for three years. Every Sawan, I lose around Rs 20,000. I make up for it with side work, but the loss still stings,” he said.

Irshad Qureshi, General Secretary of the Delhi Meat Merchant Association, clarified that licensed shop owners were not forced to close. “The mayor only appealed to shopowners to shut down out of respect for Kanwariyas. It wasn’t an order,” he said.

Earlier this month, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) had said that it can’t pass an order directing that meat shops along the Kanwar Yatra routes be shut, since no such provision exists under the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act, 1957.

‘We will make a request to meat shop owners to voluntarily shut their shops in deference to the religious sentiments associated with the Kanwar Yatra,” Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh had told PTI.

The annual Kanwar Yatra will culminate on July 25.

(Sharmistha Shivhare is an intern with The Indian Express)