Vasai | September 9, 2026
The Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation has appealed to meat shops in the city to remain closed on September 8 and September 15 during the Jain community’s Paryushan festival, prompting opposition from the Marathi Ekikaran Samiti.
The civic body issued the notice on Tuesday, asking meat retailers across the Vasai-Virar municipal area to suspend sales on the first and final days of this year’s Paryushan observance. The festival is scheduled to be observed from September 8 to September 15.
The Marathi Ekikaran Samiti has questioned the basis of the municipal corporation’s decision and objected to the closure appeal. The organisation asked why the civic body had taken what it described as a unilateral decision and questioned whose direction had led to the move.
Paryushan is a significant festival for the Jain community. Its observances include reflection on conduct, control over desires and impulses, religious study, penance and seeking forgiveness from all living beings. The Loksatta report said sizeable Jain populations live in the municipal areas of Mumbai, Mira-Bhayandar and Vasai-Virar.
The current arrangement follows a Maharashtra government decision issued by the Urban Development Department on June 29, 2019. According to the report, the decision was issued after Jain community members sought the closure of slaughterhouses in the region during Paryushan.
Under the arrangement described in the report, slaughterhouses are not required to remain closed throughout the festival. Instead, they are to be closed on two days: the first and the final day of Paryushan. In Vasai-Virar, those dates will be September 8 and September 15 this year.
The municipal corporation’s notice refers to the closure of meat sales in its jurisdiction, while the 2019 government decision cited in the report concerns slaughterhouses. The report does not provide the text of the civic notice or specify enforcement measures for shops that remain open.
The dispute places a recurring question of municipal administration in focus: how civic authorities implement festival-related closure decisions while communicating their legal basis and operational scope to businesses and residents. The municipal appeal and the Marathi Ekikaran Samiti’s objection are the two positions reported in the current account.
The announced closure dates remain September 8 and September 15, corresponding to the first and last days of the Paryushan period. No further municipal response to the committee’s objections was reported.
