UP mulls declaring Ayodhya and Mathura pilgrim centres to enforce ban on meat and liquor

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government is mulling declaring certain parts of Ayodhya and Mathura as pilgrim centres in order to enforce the proposed ban on the sale of meat and liquor. 

The 14 Kosi Parikrama Marg in Ayodhya and Lord Krishna's birthplace in Mathura are likely to be declared as pilgrim centres, suggests news agency PTI.

A day before Diwali 2018, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath announced that Faizabad district will henceforth be known as Ayodhya. 

On Monday, reports claimed that the state is now considering a proposal to ban the sale of liquor and meat in the entire district, a demand made by local seers.

"Honouring their demands, the state government is working to declare the area around 14 Kosi Parikrama Marg in Ayodhya and the birthplace of Lord Krishna in Mathura as pilgrim centres. Once this happens, a ban on the sale and consumption of non-vegetarian food and liquor will automatically come into effect," UP minister Shrikant Sharma told PTI. 

He added that the ban of sale on liquor and meat will be within the legal framework.

Sharma said Vrindavan, Barsana, Nandgaon, Giriraj ji and Sapt Kosi Parikrama area of Govardhan had already been declared pilgrim centres, where there is the ban on sale and consumption of non-vegetarian food and liquor. 

Acharya Satyendra Das was also quoted as saying by ANI that Ayodhya is a sacred place and meat and liquor was never sold in the city, adding that the proposed ban will lead to a healthier lifestyle.

"Ayodhya has been a sacred place for centuries, meat and liquor were never sold here. Now that Faizabad has been renamed as Ayodhya, the ban should be applicable to the whole district. The ban will end the impurity and pollution and evoke a feeling of purity. This ban will help people to be healthier," Das said.

The demand has drawn support from other seers as well, one of whom, namely Dharmdas Pakshkar of Sri Hanuman Gadi Temple, has called for a ban on the sale of meat across the nation.

With agency inputs