Meat sale ban: Chhattisgarh govt reduces ban period to two days

Raipur: A day after announcing meat sale ban for the eight days of the 'Paryushan' festival of Jain community, the Chhattisgarh government on Saturday said the order would be enforced only for two days.

All the meat shops and slaughter houses will remain closed for any two days of the eight-day-long festival, which would be decided by the respective district magistrates, official sources said.

The Urban Administration and Development department had earlier issued directives to civic bodies to keep all the slaughter houses and meat shops closed from September 10 to 17 for the Jain 'Paryushan' festival and Ganesh Chaturthi.

Ganesh Chaturthi will be celebrated on September 17.

The state government has been imposing ban on sale of meat during Paryushan since 2011.

Notably, there has been a row over such a directive in Mumbai where ruling BJP's ally Shiv Sena and opposition MNS hit the streets to protest.

The Rajasthan government had also ordered ban on sale of meat and fish on September 17 (Paryushan), 18 ('Sanvatsari' - another Jain festival) and 27 ('Anant Chaturdashi').

While the ruling BJP in Maharashtra has defended the ban imposed by Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), the Sena as well as opposition MNS, Congress and NCP have vehemently opposed it, alleging that the move was aimed at polarising voters and appeasing a section of society before the crucial MCGM polls in early 2017.

A similar ban has also been imposed by Mira-Bhayander and Navi Mumbai municipal corporations in Mumbai's adjoining Thane district.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had earlier said his party would ensure that there was no ban on sale of meat.