Non-vegetarian food stalls banned on streets of Ahmedabad

The street vendors of Ahmedabad, mostly those who cart non-vegetarian food, are confused following a municipal corporation diktat that bans them from operating anymore.

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s decision was apparently influenced by local BJP leaders, who demanded removal of non-vegetarian food carts from roads in different cities of Gujarat.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, however, did not agree with the ban on non-vegetarian food stalls in particular. He said the state government has nothing to do with people’s food habits. The CM said the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s decision could have been guided by the need for hygiene on roads. Patel said that municipal corporations may also take such a decision to decongest roads.

“Some people eat vegetarian food, some people eat non-vegetarian food. The BJP government does not have any problem with it. There have been demands to remove particular ‘larries’ (carts) from the road. Our only concern is that, the food sold from food carts should not be unhygienic,” Patel said.

Also read: Citing ‘religious sentiment’, Vadodara removes non-veg from public display

Meanwhile, the non-vegetarian food stall owners in Ahmedabad are confused. With nothing else to do, they are wondering what to do now for survival.

“How does it make sense to ban us and allow hotels to operate. Won’t the smell (of non-veg food) come from there?” Rakesh, a street vendor in Ahmedabad, told news agency ANI.

Besides non-veg food stall owners, those selling egg products too have been banned. Another fast food vendor said, “I’ve learnt about the ban on egg carts, but I’m a sandwich seller and my cart was also taken.”