Kanwariyas arrive after filling their pots with ganga water from Sultanganj during the annual ‘Kanwar Yatra’, in Deoghar on July 24, 2024.
| Photo Credit: ANI
National Loktantrik Party president (executive) Mohammad Suhail has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition in the Allahabad High Court seeking to quash an order of the Varanasi Municipal Corporation to close down all meat shops along the Kanwar Yatra route for the Hindu month of Shravan.
Calling it ‘unconstitutional’, the petitioner said the civic body’s order violated the freedom to do any business guaranteed under Article 19(1)(g).
“…the closure of the meat and poultry shops, especially on the occasion of Sawan or any other Hindu festival, tends to be arbitrary in nature and violative of Fundamental Rights guaranteed under the Constitution,” the plea argued, adding that orders like this would impact the livelihood of people.
The petition came days after the Supreme Court stopped the enforcement of directives issued by the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments asking food stalls on the route of Kanwar Yatra to prominently exhibit the names and other identity details of their owners and employees. This Yatra takes place during the Hindu month of Shravan in which those who worship Shiva — popularly known as Kanwariyas or Bhole — walk hundreds of km carrying pots of Ganga jal, known as Kanwar (structure made of bamboo that has containers suspended on both side of a pole), to the temples in their hometown. The yatra has been increasingly popular, particularly among the Dalit and OBC communities, in the Hindi heartland.
The PIL said the Kanwar Yatra was an age-old practice and so was the existence of the meat shops in Varanasi.
“As per a report, there are a total of 96 shops of meat and poultry that come under the Varanasi Municipal Corporation and unfortunately not only 96 shops will close for whole month rather the families of those working there as daily wage workers will have to suffer for whole month,” the PIL stated.
It urged the court to declare the said directive as unconstitutional and invalid and order the civic body to compensate the losses incurred by shopkeepers.
