The famous two-day Mundneshwar fair of Kaljikhal block in Pauri district will be held on June 6 and 7. This religious fair is held in the first week of June every year and is one of the four religious festivals of Pauri district known for the slaughter of animals in the name of religion though no buffaloes were slaughtered in the Mundneshwar fair last year due to the efforts of voluntary organisations.
The District Magistrate Chandra Shekhar Bhatt instructed the sub-divisional magistrate Pl Shah to ensure adequate police presence at the site to maintain the law and order. He said that measures must be undertaken to effectively prevent animal sacrifice at the fair this year. It will be recalled that the district administration had been trying to stop animal sacrifices at prominent religious fairs in the district for some years following the Uttarakhand High Court order prohibiting animal slaughter at any place except a slaughter house.
last year the authorities had succeeded in preventing animal slaughter at Mundneshwar and Bungkhal fairs with the cooperation of the locals and temple committees.
In the past, animals were slaughtered by devotees during the Kanda, Mundneshwar, Bungkhal and Kalinga religious fairs. While the animal slaughter was stopped some years ago at the Kanda fair, the slaughter was stopped at Mundneshwar and Bungkhal last year. However, the slaughter has not yet been stopped at the Kalinga fair. Devotees wanting to thank the goddess used to slaughter buffaloes, goats and birds during these religious fairs on fulfillment of their wishes or for appeasing the goddess.