Gujarat’s Vadodara is reportedly set to launch a drive to penalise street hawkers who sell non-vegetarian food ‘openly’. According to local reports, civic officials in Vadodara have been instructed to ensure that food stalls do not ‘visibly’ sell non-vegetarian food; such stalls and carts must ensure that the meat is suitably ‘covered’. The direction will also apply to carts selling food items made from eggs.

Vadodara’s reported move comes close after the mayor of another city in Gujarat Rajkot passed instructions that stalls selling non-vegetarian food be limited to designated hawking zones and be kept away from main roads.

The instructions in Vadodara were reportedly passed verbally by Hitendra Patel, who is the chairperson of Vadodara Municipal Corporation standing committee. While local reports indicate that there’s some confusion on ground about how Patel’s instructions are to be implemented, a publication quoted him as saying, “I instructed that all food stalls, especially those selling non-vegetarian food such as fish, meat and eggs, should ensure that the food is well covered for hygiene reasons They should also be removed from main roads where they could cause traffic snarls”

“They need to ensure that no non-vegetarian food is visible to anyone passing by It has to do with our religious sentiments It may have been the practice for years to sell non-vegetarian food on full display, but the time has come to correct it,” Patel was further quoted as saying.