The Maharashtra government instructed to shut down a slaughterhouse in Daund of Pune, Maharashtra, after Banda Tatya Karadkar threatened a protest in opposition to the establishment and the followers of the Warkari sect stated that it would pollute the Indrayani and Bheema rivers. Therefore, the administration took immediate cognizance of their demands and decided to close the facility.
Many Hindus reside in Daund as well as nearby Ahilyanagar and Solapur districts. There are a lot of sacred Hindu places in the area along with holy water bodies, including the Bheema River which is also known as the Chandrabhaga River.
The largest government-mechanized slaughterhouse was approved near the famous Shri Kshetra Siddhatek Ganapati temple, which stands at the bank of this river and is a revered spot for all Hindus. Hence, the Warkari community, Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists and other Hindus all fiercely demonstrated against the decision. The administration permitted the slaughterhouse without consulting the locals or residents of the nearby neighbourhoods. The people vehemently complained because the development was harmful to their environment and health. Notably, a sacred procession honouring Lord Vitthal is taken out to Pandharpur from different parts of the state and the Chandrabhaga River also flows from here.
The people complained that since the slaughterhouse was located close to the river, the contaminated water carrying blood would be released into it and the same would reach Pandharpur and result in desecration. Banda Tatya Karadkar submitted all these grievances before Eknath Shinde, the chief minister and Devendra Fadnavis, the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra in a meeting organised in Pune to oversee the preparations of the Pandharpur procession. The chief minister also met with other representatives of the Warkari community before instructing to shut down the slaughterhouse.
Meanwhile, the Hindu community was gearing up for a protest by planning a large-scale movement to force the closure of this slaughterhouse. However, they have now welcomed and applauded the government’s decision. Last year, Hindu groups also objected to the slaughterhouse and submitted a letter to BJP state unit chief Chandrashekar Bavankule.
It read, “This slaughterhouse is being constructed for the benefit of one specific community and the government granting permission to the same has hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus. It is said that the slaughterhouse is being created to slaughter the buffaloes but there have been many instances in the past where illegal slaughter of cows has taken place Daund. FIRs have also been filed in several such cases.”
The letter also emphasized the slaughterhouse’s illegality by pointing out that Daund is forty kilometres away from Pune’s Baramati district, where there is currently one government-approved slaughterhouse in operation, and that no additional slaughterhouse should be permitted in such close vicinity.
