‘Animal sacrifice only in slaughterhouses in Manglaur on Bakrid’

Nainital: Ahead of Bakrid, the Uttarakhand high court has allowed cattle slaughter at select slaughterhouses in Haridwar's Manglaur town. The order came on Thursday during the hearing of a petition against the complete ban on slaughterhouses in Haridwar district.The public interest litigation, filed by a group of Manglaur residents, claims that the closure of all slaughterhouses is discriminatory against minorities as "meat consumption is a constitutional right". The petitioners pointed out that 87% of the population in Manglaur practices Islam and therefore, cattle slaughter should be allowed in the town on Bakrid.Responding to the PIL, chief standing advocate CS Rawat, on behalf of the state government, said that the court had allowed cattle slaughter on Bakrid last year as well but the order was misused and animals were killed on the streets. Rawat added that Haridwar is a sacred place for Hindus and the killing of animals in the holy town hurts religious sentiments.After hearing the arguments, the court asked the administration to ensure that cattle slaughter only takes place in slaughterhouses and not on the streets.