Meat shops in South Delhi, even those that had remained closed out of fear on Tuesday, opened on Wednesday since they had received no official orders to keep their stores shut during Navratri. This comes two days after the South Delhi Municipal Corporation Mayor sought the closure of meat shops during the Navratri period, and a day after BJP MP Parvesh Sahib Singh called for such restrictions across the country. In the absence of an official order, though, shop owners said they were resuming business as usual. “If we get it in writing then we will shut shop, but no written or legal notice has come so far. Everything here is clean, and no one here objects to the shop being open,” said Gulzar, owner of Capital Meat Shop at CR Park market 2. “If it was a legal order then the slaughterhouse would have been shut. If the Mayor wants to shut meat shops, then he should shut the slaughterhouse, which also belongs to the MCD.” Despite deciding to stay open, fear was palpable among shop owners. Mohammad Faizan, owner of East Bengal Meat Shop in CR Park market 1, kept his shop open but worked largely on takeaways and deliveries. “On one hand, we are worried about penalties and jeopardising our licence, but on the other, there is a lot of demand for meat right now too since Ramzan has started. CR park is mostly occupied by Bengalis and they always have a high demand for meat. There is no law passed and no written order for us to shut, so we have stayed open, but obviously we are a little scared because of what’s going around in the news.” Mohammad Ihdar, owner of National Mutton Bazaar in CR Park market 3, said, “We stayed open but some customers have been asking about what is going on in the news. We were scared before opening, so all shop owners spoke to each other in the morning to confirm if any legal notice was received by anyone. Since none of us have received any instruction, we all decided to remain open today. If something changes or someone tells any shop owner to shut, he will relay it to the others.” Some shop owners said such a directive is uncalled for. “I think it’s a personal choice to eat whatever you want, whenever you want. No one has the right to tell people what to eat,” aid Ihdar. Tapan Bose, owner of a fish shop in CR Park market 1, said, “If I observe Navratri, I simply won’t come to the meat shops or eat meat. If shops are shut, owners will incur huge losses. But why should they?” Allaudin, owner of Allauddin Meat Shop in CR Park market 4, kept his shop open as usual, and shut it just after lunch time as he ran out of his stock. “I will open on time tomorrow as well,” he said. Shops in INA Market that were closed on Tuesday out of fear of losing their licences or having to pay fines also opened on Wednesday. Krishan Kumar, who owns a meat shop in the INA Market, said no orders have been received from the MCD to remain shut.
