Meat shops in Delhi remain open, owners say 'no official order yet'

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Even as mayors threatened the meat shop owners a day earlier to down their shutters during Navratri, shops remained open today in South Delhi. Shop owners said that they received no official order against it. South and East Delhi mayors on Tuesday asked meat shops in their jurisdictions to remain shut during Navratri, claiming that "most people do not consume non-vegetarian food" for nine days.

Yunus Idres Qureshi, Delhi Meat Association Vice President, said that the meat business across Delhi is functioning as usual as no official order has been issued. He also said that mayors don't have the power to issue such orders, which can only be taken by a municipal commissioner. 

"The sale of meat is anyway impacted during Navaratri. Our sale drops to 20-25 per cent during Navaratri every year. We have not received any official order asking us to shut our shops, hence our business is functioning as usual. Mayor’s request is politically motivated," he said.

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Shopkeepers in South Delhi including Jamia Nagar, Zakir Nagar, and INA said that if an official order comes, they will close their shops. Several meat markets remained shut on Tuesday under fear of action from the authorities.

On Wednesday, meat shops in the INA market were found open. There are around 40 shops in the market. Meat shops in Zakir Nagar and Jamia Nagar too were found open. There are around 15 shops in Jamia Nagar, and the majority of them were open.

“Mostly all shops are open. It is a Muslim majority area. On an individual basis, some shops are closed. If an order comes, we will close our shops. Until then, the shops are open,” Nawabuddin, a meat shop owner, said.

Salaudin, owner of the SL buffalo meat shop in Jamia Nagar, was among the few who chose to keep their shops shut.

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