Haridwar plans raw meat ban from civic area ahead of Ardh Kumbh

HARIDWAR: Haridwar municipal corporation is gearing up to place a proposal in its board meeting this month to ban the sale of raw meat across the entire municipal area and shift all such shops to Sarai village on the city's outskirts ahead of the 2027 Ardh Kumbh.

Civic authorities said the move was being planned since they wanted "tighter control over cleanliness and the stray dog menace in the city which was increasing due to the meat shops."

The move aims to expand an existing restriction under which meat and liquor are banned within a 5-km radius of Har-ki-Pauri, the city's main bathing ghat.

Mayor Kiran Jaisal, who is from the BJP, said her party had the numbers to push the proposal through the board. She told TOI, "We have a majority in the board and all members are ready to give their consent to the proposal."

She added that the issue of cooked meat served in hotels and restaurants would also come up for discussion, and whether such establishments should move outside municipal limits.

‘Enforce rules strictly to preserve city’s sanctity’
At present, raw meat continues to be sold in areas like Jawalapur and Jagjeetpur which have a mixed population of Hindus and Muslims.

Officials said a mutton market, along with several chicken and fish shops, operated in these localities, while pork and buffalo meat were also sold in some pockets without licences, leading authorities to take action against them from time to time.

The issue of meat ban in Haridwar had gained traction after Ganga Sabha, which administers the Har-ki-Pauri area, recently sought stricter compliance with what it called “existing municipal rules declaring the Haridwar area a meat-and-alcohol-prohibited zone.” It said the rules should be enforced more strictly “to preserve the sanctity of the pilgrimage city before the Kumbh.”

Meanwhile, a group of councillors from the minority community met Jaisal soon after the proposed move became public, and requested her not to shift hotels serving cooked meat outside the city.

Local councillor Ahsan Ansari told TOI, “Members of both communities run these places where cooked meat is being served. We are ready to give support to shift raw meat shops outside the city limits.”

In 2021, the govt had declared urban local bodies across Haridwar, including two municipal corporations, two nagar palika parishads and five nagar panchayats, as slaughter-free areas ahead of the Kumbh and cancelled clearances issued to slaughterhouses. That decision later faced a legal challenge in Uttarakhand high court.