Govt should not decide people’s eating patterns: Raj Thackeray on meat ban
Mumbai, Aug 14 (PTI): Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray on Thursday opposed the meat ban imposed by some civic bodies in the state on Independence Day, underscoring that the government should not decide the eating patterns of the people.
He said the civic bodies do not have the right to impose such a ban.
“The government and civic bodies should not decide what one should eat and what one should not. We are celebrating Independence Day, and there is no independence in choosing what to eat. Bringing any ban on Independence Day is a paradox,” Thackeray told reporters.
Thackeray joins the chorus of opposition leaders opposing the meat ban by some civic bodies in the state.
Municipal corporations in Nagpur, Nashik, Malegaon, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Kalyan-Dombivli have issued orders directing the closure of slaughterhouses and meat shops within their jurisdiction on August 15. Some of them have said these facilities will remain shut on certain other days, too, in view of Hindu and Jain festivals.
Ruling allies BJP and NCP have spoken in different voices on the issue, while Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said the government was not interested in policing people’s food choices.
The BJP has said the policy to keep abattoirs shut on Independence Day was first implemented in 1988 when Sharad Pawar, who now heads the NCP (SP), was the chief minister, and sought to know if the opposition would question the veteran politician about it.
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Dense fog disrupts operations at Delhi airport; 228 flights cancelled, 5 diverted
New Delhi (PTI): Dense fog disrupted flight operations at Delhi Airport on Monday, with various airlines cancelling 228 flights and diverting five to nearby airports due to low visibility, an official said.
However, except for Air India, which had in an X post in the morning announced the cancellation of some 40 flights, no other airlines, including crisis-hit IndiGo, shared the numbers of their cancelled or delayed flights.
"As many as 228 flights -- 131 departures and 97 arrivals-- have been cancelled due to low visibility, so far," the airport official said.
In addition to this, five flights have been diverted so far, he said.
Earlier, the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), in a statement, said, "Our on-ground officials are working closely with all stakeholders to assist passengers and provide necessary support across Terminals.
"Low visibility (below minima), due to dense fog, has severely impacted operations at Delhi and other airports across northern India, which is unfortunately beyond our control," IndiGo said in a statement.
As operations are adjusted to prevailing weather conditions, some flights may experience delays, while a few others may be proactively cancelled during the day to prioritise safety and minimise extended waiting at the airport, the airline said in a statement.
IndiGo, however, did not say how many of its flights were cancelled or delayed.
The airline said its teams are "closely monitoring" the situation and coordinating with Delhi airport.
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IndiGo also said it issued advisories to its customers and "proactively" informing them, to minimise inconvenience.
“Poor visibility due to dense fog in Delhi this morning has impacted flight operations for all airlines. We are closely monitoring conditions and will resume operations as soon as it is safe to do so,” Air India said in a post on X in the morning.
It also said that some flights have been cancelled In the interest of safety, and to avoid prolonged uncertainty for the guests, while listing out some 40 arrivals and departures that it had cancelled for the day.
Delhi airport is the country's busiest, handling around 1,300 flight movements daily.
