Declaring 10 square kilometre area around Krishna Janmasthal in Mathura as a pilgrimage area, the Uttar Pradesh government has banned the sale of liquor and meat there with immediate effect.
The total area consists of 22 wards of Mathura Municipal Corporation.
“The demand to declare Mathura as a religious area was constantly being raised. Keeping this in mind, the Yogi Adityanath government has declared an area of 10 square kilometers as a pilgrimage site, keeping Shree Krishna's birth place at the center in Mathura-Vrindavan,” clarified a senior government official in Lucknow on Friday.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who visited Mathura on Krishna Janmashtami on August 30, had announced a ban on the sale of meat and liquor in Mathura as per the wishes of the saints and had said that officers concerned had been directed to make plans for implementation of the ban as well as for the engagement of people involved in such activities in some other trade.
Yogi suggested that those engaged in liquor and meat trade might take up selling milk in order to revive the glory of Mathura that was known for producing huge quantities of bovine milk which could bolster milk sales in the region.
The government decision sent shock waves among traders dealing in liquor and meat business in Mathura and adjoining areas. According to government records, Mathura city has 644 liquor vends -- 240 beer shops, 211 foreign liquor stores, 184 Indian liquor stores and six model shops -- which rake in around Rs 480 crore revenue to the Excise department.
Similarly, meat sellers of the area too will be adversely affected as it is not that easy to switch over to some other businesses in a short time. Though the city does not have a slaughterhouse, it has 45 registered meat shops. Besides, the city has over 3,000 hotels and restaurants, of which around 50 serve non-vegetarian food.
Incidentally, a similar ban was earlier imposed in seven towns around Mathura which include Goverdhan, Barsana, Gokul, Baldev, Nandgaon, Radhakund and Vrindavan.