Swiggy Instamart drops non-veg food items from app on Maha Shivratri; users react on social media

Quick commerce platform Swiggy Instamart has temporarily removed all non-vegetarian items from its platform in observance of Maha Shivratri on Wednesday across several of its markets, the firm’s customers flagged on social media.

The quick commerce company is also delivering the sacred Tandool Mahaprasad Ladoos directly from Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi across 40 cities in Delhi-NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Goa, and Madhya Pradesh.

In these markets, where it is delivering the sacred food offerings, it is not delivering non-vegetarian items for the day.


However, the food delivery platform Swiggy is selling non-vegetarian food on its platform.

Meanwhile, other platforms, including Zomato-owned Blinkit and Zepto, continue to offer non-vegetarian items such as eggs and meat products.

Maha Shivratri is a Hindu festival dedicated to Lord Shiva, during which devotees observe fasts, offer prayers, and refrain from consuming non-vegetarian food.

Quick commerce platforms are also offering items related to Maha Shivratri, including sacred ladoos from temples, shivlings, flowers and fasting essentials.

Amitesh Jha, CEO of Swiggy Instamart, said, “The Tandool Mahaprasad holds profound significance for devotees during this auspicious time, and we’re making it simpler than ever for them to receive these sacred offerings without compromising on authenticity.”

Social media reacts

Netizens were quick to take to the microblogging site X (formerly Twitter) to share their views on this decision.

“Turns out you can’t order meat or even eggs on @SwiggyInstamart in my area today. They just do not show up on the app. What kind of sorcery is this? What is going on in this country!,” said a user.

“No eggs or non veg categories showing on @SwiggyInstamart today. One can only assume it's because of Maha Shivratri. How do you get to police what people eat #swiggyinstamart ?,” wrote another user.

Last year, Swiggy’s rival Zomato had faced criticism for launching a veg-only food delivery mode on its app, which it rolled back following backlash on social media. Under this, Zomato had launched a separate colour-coded fleet for exclusively delivering vegetarian food with the name ‘pure veg only’ which was later renamed ‘veg only’. The green uniform for gig workers making pure vegetarian deliveries was also withdrawn.

In January this year, the Gurugram-based food delivery platform also rolled back its decision to levy an additional Rs 2 fee for customers using the ‘veg only’ mode on its app following a backlash on social media.

Also Read: Swiggy Instamart expands to 76 cities, to launch a standalone app