The
imposition of ban on the sale of non-vegetarian items in the municipal areas of
Thanesar (Kurukshetra) on Friday has started a debate over the advisability of
the ban in a town whose municipal limits has been extended five times since the
ban was first imposed in the year 1974.
The ban
imposed by the Deputy Commissioner has left a large number of persons involved
in the business of eatables in a lurch and is causing great hardship to the
non-vegetarians as well as patients. The ban orders are reported to have been
issued following direction of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to the Deputy Commissioner
on the basis of a PIL by one advocate to take appropriate action on his
representation to DC against the sale of non-vegetarian in the town of
Kurukshetra , which he claimed have been declared as ‘holy’ city.
It may be
mentioned here that the Haryana government had declared Kurukshetra as ‘holy
city’ and had shifted liquor vends and meat shops outside the extended limits
of Thanesar town. However, the Motel being run by the department of Tourism,
Haryana Government as well as Military canteen for ex-servicemen situated at
Pipli, are allowed to sell liquor though they fall in the jurisdiction of
municipal limits of Thanesar.
The old
timers recall that initially the use of liquor and meat around the vicinity of
holy Brahmasarovar and Sannehit tank were banned by the authorities. In fact an
order on behalf of the Deputy Commissioner, Karnal (Kurukshetra was part of
Karnal district) used to be displayed on the banks of both the holy tanks that
the consumption of liquor and meat on the holy ‘tirtha’ was not allowed.
It was
first on the recommendation of Mr. Gulzari Lal Nanda, the then union Minister
and founder Chairman of Kurukshetra Development Board, that the then Chief
Minister Bansi Lal announced a holy status for Kurukshetra in 1974 and the
liquor vends and meat shops were shifted outside the municipal limits of
Thanesar. The municipal limits at that time were just one kms in radius around
the holy tanks. After about two years the municipal limits of Thanesar comprising
Dara Kalan, Dara Khurd and a part of Dara Khera, were extended by including the
remaining part of Dara Khera Thanesar.
The
municipal limits were once again extended by adding the panchayat areas of
Pipli, Bir Pipli, Devi Dasspura, Ratgal, Sunderpur, Bahri and part of Mirzapur
in the year 1984. With this the demand of declaring the whole town holy once
again emerged and finally Mr. Bhajan Lal announced that liquor vends will be
taken out of the extended limits of Thanesar. Later, in 1991, Chief Minister
Bansi Lal once again announced a ban on non-veg inside the municipal limits of
Thanesar.
Following
this announcements the Excise and Taxation department shifted the liquor vends
on the periphery of extended municipal limits. However, the department exempted
the old panchayat limits of Pipli from this ban and the liquor vend at Pipli
continued as usual because the liquor Bar of the Tourism department at Pipli
restaurant had to be exempted. Later, the military canteen for the ex-service
men was also exempted.
It is
also interesting to note that there is no village or town by the name of
Kurukshetra in the revenue records of Haryana and the present town of
Kurukshetra is infact named as a District while Thanesar as Tehsil and
Sub-Division, comprising the jurisdiction of various villages, which kept on
increasing. In Puranic books, 38 ‘kose’ areas around Thanesar are referred as
Kurukshetra.
Though
the meat slaughter shops have been shifted out side the limits of extended
municipality limits but the meat and other non-veg was easily available in all
the restaurants situated in the town. A student at Kurukshetra University ,
Subhash, described the shifting move as hypocrisy of those who hardly bother
for the sanctity of the holy places but raise hue and cry for the ban just to
score a point while most of them too enjoy liquor and meat. Mostly, the
visitors to Brahmasarovar to attend Kurukshetra Utsav- Geeta Jayanti Samaroh
created unhygienic conditions on the holy place by throwing left out eatable
and packages in a scattered manner after consuming eatable, he added.
Dr. S.P.
Singh demanded that only the area around holy tanks and shrines should be
declared pious and the people drinking liquor or consuming meat must be
stringently punished, rather than making a mockery for the ban in extended
area. He said that the piousness of the place could not be linked with the
extension of municipal limits as the towns are bound to expand with all sort of
people from all walk of life with different eating habits.
Manjit
Singh, a famous seller of non-veg items demanded that ban should be imposed in
specific radius of 250 to 500 meters of holy places of Brahmasarovar and
Sanehit tank as in case of Amritsar and Haridwar, where it is only in a radius
of 500 meters.
