CM Yogi begins abattoir action

Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow on Wednesday. (PTI) 

Piyush Srivastava, TT, Lucknow, March 22: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered immediate closure of illegal slaughterhouses in Uttar Pradesh and constituted committees under district magistrates to monitor legal mechanised abattoirs in their areas.

The orders were issued today through chief secretary Rahul Bhatnagar, who has asked the DMs to inspect slaughterhouses and send reports every day by 11am. "The government has also asked district authorities to report within a week the number of cattle killed or kept in (legal) slaughterhouses and whether they were violating norms, including those on discharge of effluents and the condition of meat-processing units," Bhatnagar said.

Then came an indication that the legal abattoirs could also be shut down. "Closure of all illegally run slaughterhouses and banning mechanised abattoirs is a priority of the present government," Bhatnagar said.

The BJP's election manifesto had promised a ban on all slaughterhouses in the state. Although there was no mention of animals, it was believed that the aim was to stop buffalo slaughter. Killing of cows is already banned. Goats can be killed and their meat sold after permission from the animal husbandry department.

Yogi issued the instructions during his first day at the secretariat where, livid at betel and gutkha stains on the walls, he banned chewing of pan or tobacco during duty hours. He asked department heads to organise a "cleanliness pledge" at 10am tomorrow. The ministers have been asked to be present too.

A government source said Yogi told officers he had been holding similar "pledge sessions" at his Gorakhnath Math in Gorakhpur and that the practice could be followed in government offices.

The chief minister, according to the source, even spelt out the pledge. "I will not litter, nor allow anybody to do it. I will devote 100 hours every year to make the pledge of cleanliness come true and will propagate the message of the Swachh Bharat Mission in every nook and cranny of the country." Yogi is the mahant (head) of the math in Gorakhpur, which he has represented as MP five times in a row.

Chief secretary Bhatnagar said senior officers "would be held responsible" if any garbage or stains were found in their offices."The officers have been asked to conduct surprise inspections. Broken and old furniture and piles of documents should be removed from the corridors within 15 days. Wash basins and toilets should be kept clean."

Later today, all principal secretaries held internal meetings and asked the officers to check the use of pan and tobacco in schools, colleges and hospitals.