Slaughter, sale of meat banned on October 2 across Bengaluru

Bengaluru: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has banned the slaughter and sale of meat in the city on October 2, on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.

The BBMP's animal husbandry division has issued the order. 

Various citizens groups had requested the government not to ban the sale of meat on October 2 since the date coincides with Pitru Paksha or Mahalaya Amavasya, an important Hindu festival dedicated to honouring ancestors. 

"Many Hindu families in Karnataka prepare non-vegetarian food as an offering to their ancestors during this sacred period. Considering the overlap with Gandhi Jayanti, we respectfully request the government to lift the ban on the sale of meat,” members of Jayaprakash Narayana Vichara Vedike, a citizens' collective, had appealed. 

BBMP data shows that the city has nearly 3,000 licensed meat shops and three authorised slaughterhouses. However, the figures are unlikely to match with the ground realities as illegal shops also function in the city.