This story is from December 10, 2019

Lucknow: No meat to be sold for 25 days near Defence Expo venue

More than 35,000 residents living along the 10.9km route between the airport and Vrindavan Colony on Kanpur Road will not be able to purchase meat and fish from retailers in local markets for 25 days.
Lucknow: No meat to be sold for 25 days near Defence Expo venue
Representative image
LUCKNOW: More than 35,000 residents living along the 10.9km route between the airport and Vrindavan Colony on Kanpur Road will not be able to purchase meat and fish from retailers in local markets for 25 days.
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From January 15, the area has been declared a low-fly zone for the air show which will be conducted by the Indian Air Force on this stretch during the 11th Defence Expo scheduled in the city from February 4-9.

Fighter planes participating in the show will take off from and land at CCS airport in Amausi. They will fly low until they reach an open ground in Vrindavan Colony, above which the air show will be performed. According to rules, the 7km periphery of the take-off and landing sites, the venue of the air show and the low-fly zone have to be free from meat and fish shops because waste thrown from these shops often attracts birds and increases the threat of a bird colliding with a plane.
Even roadside vendors selling eggs or meat items and food vans will be removed from the stretch for the duration.
In compliance of safety rules, Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC), the nodal government agency for making preparations for the defence expo, has issued directions to shut all shops selling meat and fish on the 10.9km stretch.
The area houses an estimated 220 small meat shops and vendors, all of which will be removed from January 15 to February 9.

Prominent areas on the stretch inlude Amausi, Transportnagar, Sarojininagar, Banthra, some parts of LDA Colony on Kanpur Road, SGPGI, Uthretia, Vrindavan Colony, Telibagh, Shaheed Path, Ambedkarnagar and Aashiana.
“The date of closure is 20 days ahead of the event so that LMC has enough time to conduct drives and take action against defaulters,” said LMC chief veterinary officer Arvind Rao.
“We might also order closure of all meat and fish shops in the city from Feb 4-9 during the defence expo. The decision will be taken after assessment of the safety situation later,” he added.
The expo will be held at two venues. While the air show will be held in Vrindavan Colony , Indian Navy’s marine commandos will perform in the river Gomti on a 1,9km stretch between Hanuman Setu and Khatu Shyam temple. An exhibition of tanks, arms and other defence equipment with several national and international companies will also be set up on the stretch. People are waiting eagerly for the mega defence expo show but the closure of meat and fish shops will lead to some difficulties.
The worst hit will be the shop owners because they are already facing a crisis after closure of slaughterhouses in the city in March 2017.
“According to records, there were around 800 registered retail meat shops in the city which had a no-objection certificate from LMC and were registered with the Food Safety and Drug Administration till March 2017. However, around 600 applied for renewal of licence, of which 250 got clearance, said LMC. The three slaughterhouses of the city were closed in 2014-15 because they did not fulfil pollution norms prescribed by the National Green Tribunal. One of them continued to operate in an unauthorised manner till March 2017 before being shut down permanently.
Around 70% of the city’s 35 lakh population is non-vegetarian and consumes around 64,000kg of meat daily.
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