Crackdown on meat shops in Delhi not religious: Sirsa

Environment minister and member of legislative assembly (MLA) from Rajouri Garden Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Sunday reiterated his stand on unauthorised meat shops asking for their closure, and added that it should not be seen through “the lens of religion.”

Sirsa was attending a government event in north Delhi’s Burari on Sunday and said that he did not just raise the issue, but will also ensure the removal of such shops in the city. “The illegal meat shops need to be closed and it will happen. Any hooliganism that creates anarchy should not be seen from the lens of religion. The issue is prevalent all over the city but it is more in my constituency. Thousands of illegal markets and dyeing units have opened, and to further serve the employees, hundreds of eateries have also come up. If we do not close these eateries, people will be forced to leave.”

Pointing at the illegal factories and the ecosystem of dhabas and meat shops around them, he said, “Crime happens in these areas and people feel unsafe...some people consume alcohol around these units so they need to be closed.”

During an inspection in Rajouri Garden on Friday, Sirsa had said illegal and unlicensed raw meat shops, dhabas, polluting tandoors, illegal denim factories, dyeing units, and other polluting industrial units operating in residential areas will be issued notices and then will be shut down. Road encroachments that hinder movement of traffic and pedestrians will also be removed, the minister had said.

“I have been informed by residents many times that encroachments on roads, illegal raw meat shops, polluting establishments as well as unauthorised parking make it difficult for them, especially women, to commute freely. They are to be removed on a priority basis. Meat shops must operate with valid licenses in designated areas and maintain hygienic standards. Polluting establishments cannot operate in residential areas. Such establishments can function only with the necessary licenses and at designated locations — not within residential colonies where they endanger health and well-being,” Sirsa had said on Friday.

The minister directed government officials present during the inspection to close down the unlicensed raw meat shops, dhabas and the polluting establishments.