Varanasi, June 7 (IANS) In an effort to restore the cultural image of Varanasi, thousands of shops selling meat and fish will be moved out of the holy city, within a time frame of six months, said officials on Sunday.

The Varanasi Municipal Corporation approved a proposal to this effect, facilitating their relocation to the outskirts of the city at designated locations. The move will facilitate the civic body in maintaining cleanliness and improving urban waste management, said officials.

The premise behind bringing the shutters down on meat shops is to restore the cultural glory of the sacred city and make it pilgrimage-friendly again. The proponents argue that the sale of meat and fish in the open not only tarnishes the city’s image but also burdens the civic bodies in maintaining public hygiene.

All meat and fish shops will be relocated outside the city within six months. They will operate at five key locations outside the city – Ramnagar, Dumri, Shivpur, and Chhitaipur. The new shop premises will be equipped with cleanliness facilities, electricity, water, and other essential amenities.

According to Municipal Corporation officials, this will improve basic public hygiene on the streets and will provide a better experience for tourists. The process of allocating authorised shops at the new locations to the shopkeepers will also begin soon.

Varanasi Mayor Ashok Kumar Tiwari backed the proposal and called it a “need of the hour”, stating that most of the shops selling animal flesh were illegal, unauthorised and unregistered.

“We will regularise them. We will provide them with the best possible shop facilities, including electricity and other essentials. We will also ensure proper waste management so that garbage does not accumulate anywhere. We will divide the city into five zones and relocate meat, fish, and chicken shops to designated areas outside the city limits,” he said.

He further stated, “Kashi is a religious and cultural city. Lakhs of people visit here; they do not come to see the meat and fish shops. We are creating a suitable environment for meat and fish shops outside the city limits. We are not removing or shutting them down. Instead, we will relocate them to designated sites outside the city and consolidate them in one place.”

Mayor Ashok Kumar Tiwari further stated that the executive committee has already passed this proposal, and the Municipal Corporation will identify five designated locations outside the city.

–IANS

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