The civic authorities of Rajkot, Diu, Daman, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli have announced that slaughterhouses, meat shops, fish markets, and retail liquor outlets will remain shut on Monday, January 22, 2024, on the occasion of the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
The decision was taken to respect the religious sentiments of the public and to maintain law and order in the regions.
The district collectors and magistrates of the union territories of Diu, Daman, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli issued notifications under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), prohibiting the sale and consumption of non-vegetarian food items and liquor on the auspicious day. They warned that violators would face legal action under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) also issued a similar order, stating that slaughterhouses and fish markets in the city would remain shut on Monday. The order was issued by the office-bearers of the RMC, who said that they had taken the decision in view of the historic resolution of the Ramjanmabhoomi issue and the celebration of the temple construction as a festival.
The RMC’s order, however, did not cite any legal basis or resolution for the closure. The mayor of Rajkot, Nayna Pedhadiya, told The Indian Express that she personally did not consider non-veg as a food item and that the closure was for one day only.
The RMC runs a slaughterhouse in the city, which is also closed on four Mondays of the holy month of Shravan, Ram Navami, Gandhi Jayanti, and seven days of Paryushan, the holy week for Jainism, as per a state government letter of 1985. The municipal commissioner of Rajkot, Anand Patel, issued a notification citing the 1985 letter and another letter from the RMC’s secretary branch to enforce the closure.
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