Samajwadi Party's Maharashtra unit demands temporary abattoirs for Bakri-Eid

MUMBAI: Samajwadi Party's Maharashtra unit has written to Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan demanding setting up of temporary abattoirs for the festival of ' Bakri-Eid' to be held later this year.

"We have requested the Chief Minister to immediately call a meeting of administrative officers and minority affairs minister to discuss and initiate action to set up temporary slaughter houses during Bakri-Eid. It will bring relief and happiness to the minority community," SP leader Abu Azmi said here today.

A meeting in this regard was held last year presided over by the Chief Minister where the minority community was assured of a decision after Bakri-Eid, but it is still pending, he said.

Setting up of temporary slaughter houses during Bakri-Eid is a long pending demand of the Muslim community. In absence of the facility during the festival, a large number of people are compelled to perform 'kurbani' (sacrifice) of cattle in their localities resulting in dirt and filth, which is also a health hazard, he said.

"The police, under pressure from communal forces, resort to harassing and arresting the people of the minority community," he alleged while adding that there is always a fear of communal tension during the festival.