Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], April 18 (HBTV): The Uttar Pradesh government, led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, has issued strict orders to shut down illegal slaughterhouses and enforce a ban on the sale of meat within a 500-meter radius of religious sites.

Amrit Abhijat, Principal Secretary of the Urban Development Department, directed all District Magistrates, Police Commissioners, and Municipal Commissioners to immediately close illegal slaughterhouses and ensure the strict implementation of the meat sale ban near religious locations.

Citing previous orders issued in 2014 and 2017, the Yogi government clarified that illegal animal slaughter and meat sales near religious sites will be completely prohibited. To ensure effective enforcement, district-level committees have been formed under the leadership of District Magistrates.

These committees will comprise officials from the Police Department, Pollution Control Board, Animal Husbandry Department, Transport Department, Labour Department, Health Department, and Food Safety Administration.

A strict ban on animal slaughter and meat sales will be enforced on April 6, 2025, during the festival of Ram Navami. Under the UP Municipal Corporation Act, 1959, and the Food Safety Acts of 2006 and 2011, the state government has directed officials to take strong action against violators.

Earlier, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced grand plans to celebrate Chaitra Ramnavami, a major Hindu festival. He instructed officials to organise a 24-hour Akhand Paath of Ramcharitmanas, a revered Hindu scripture, in temples across all districts of the state.

‘Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has given instructions to organize a 24-hour Akhand Paath of Shri Ramcharitmanas in all the districts on the auspicious occasion of Chaitra Ramnavami,’ according to a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office.

This initiative aims to highlight the spiritual and cultural significance of the festival, ensuring a divine experience for devotees. The recitation will begin on April 5 and conclude on April 6, coinciding with Shri Ramnavami celebrations. Necessary arrangements are being made in temples across the state to facilitate the event.

‘He has said that the completion of the Akhand Manas Paath, starting from the afternoon of 5 April, should be done on 6 April on the day of Shri Ramnavami at 12 noon with the Surya Tilak of Shri Ram Lalla in the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple. After the instructions of the Chief Minister, necessary arrangements have been started in the temples in all the districts,’ added the statement.

(ANI)