Varanasi to shift all meat, fish shops outside city within 6 months
Varanasi to shift all meat, fish shops outside city within 6 months
M.U.H
08/06/202629
The Varanasi Municipal Corporation has decided to shift all meat and fish shops operating within the city limits to designated locations on the outskirts as part of efforts to improve urban management and cleanliness, officials said on Sunday.
The proposal received approval during a meeting of the municipal corporation's governing body held at the Town Hall building in Maidagin on Saturday under the chairmanship of Mayor Ashok Kumar Tiwari. The meeting discussed several issues related to urban development, encroachment and public welfare, with the relocation of meat and fish markets emerging as one of the key decisions.
Public Relations Officer Sandeep Srivastava said the civic body endorsed a plan to systematically move meat and fish markets to the city's peripheral areas. Municipal Commissioner Himanshu Nagpal informed the House that authorities have already identified five locations in the first phase of the project.
According to officials, the selected sites are situated close to the city's outer limits to minimise inconvenience to residents. Under the plan, meat and fish shops currently operating within the city will be shifted to Ramnagar, Sujabad, Ganeshpur, Avleshpur and Shivpur.
Srivastava said around 350 to 400 meat and fish shops currently operate within the city limits. Officials said the move aims to improve sanitation, streamline the functioning of such markets and ensure continued access for consumers.
During the meeting, corporator Gulshan Ali said the civic body had proposed shifting meat and fish shops outside the city nearly a year ago, but authorities had not implemented the plan effectively. He also highlighted concerns raised by traders, saying the annual closure of meat shops during the holy month of Shravan severely affects the livelihoods of people engaged in the meat business.
Responding to the issue, Nagpal assured the House that authorities have already identified land on the city's outskirts and will soon begin the process of implementing the proposal.
Mayor Ashok Kumar Tiwari said the civic body plans to complete the relocation within the next six months. He stated that all the existing meat and fish shops operating within the city are illegal and said they should be shifted outside the city because Varanasi attracts lakhs of tourists every year.
However, the proposal has drawn concerns from traders. Ashraf, who runs a meat shop in Nathupur, said relocating meat and fish shops outside the city would cause significant inconvenience to both traders and customers. He said residents would have to travel outside the city for their daily purchases, resulting in additional expenditure of time and money.
"We want the administration to find a practical solution keeping in mind the convenience of traders as well as the general public," Ashraf said.
