acegame888 Mahakumbh 2025: Akhil Bhartiya Akhada Parishad Prez Calls For Ban On Non-Hindu Vendors Over ‘Hygiene Concerns’

Updated:2025-01-03 09:10    Views:187

Akhil Bhartiya Akhada Parishad (ABAP) President Ravindra PuriPhoto: X/@MahantRavindraP Akhil Bhartiya Akhada Parishad (ABAP) President Ravindra PuriPhoto: X/@MahantRavindraP

The Akhil Bhartiya Akhada Parishad (ABAP) President Ravindra Puri on Wednesday called for a ban on non-Hindu shops at the Mahakumbh Mela citing “hygiene concerns”. He strongly objected to non-Hindus being allowed to set up shops at the event, specifically targeting vendors offering tea, juice, and flowers.

“We have stated that tea shops, juice stalls, and flower shops should not be allowed for them. If they are given these shops, they will spit and urinate, and what will happen is that our Naga saints will start beating them. If by chance such an incident occurs and someone gets hurt, it will send the wrong message worldwide. Therefore, our fair must be beautiful, clean, grand, divine, and peaceful. It is essential to keep non-Hindus away from here to maintain the safety and sanctity of the event,” Puri raised concerns in an interview with news agency IANS.

Prayagraj, UP: When asked whether non-Hindus would be allowed to set up shops, Ravindra Puri, the President of the Akhil Bhartiya Akhada Parishad says, "We have stated that tea shops, juice stalls, and flower shops should not be allowed for them. If they are given these shops,… pic.twitter.com/oY3zJ0pPVc

— IANS (@ians_india) January 1, 2025

He emphasized that the Mahakumbh should remain a “beautiful, clean, grand, divine, and peaceful” event, stressing the importance of maintaining its spiritual and cultural purity.

"I want to become a coach. That was always my plan but now there is a question of when. After retirement, family comes first. I need to talk with them if they are OK with this. Now you have to listen to your wife a little bit," Sreejesh told PTI editors at its headquarters here on Tuesday.

This is not the first time that Puri has raised objections to the presence of non-Hindu vendors at the Kumbh Mela. In previous years, he had called for a blanket ban on Muslim vendors, arguing that they should not be allowed to sell food at the religious event.

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The ABAP has also made efforts to change the language used to describe certain events during the Mahakumbh, including renaming the terms ‘Shahi Snan’ (Royal Bath) and ‘Peshwai’ (Royal Procession) to ‘Rajsi Snan’ and ‘Chhavni Pravesh,’ respectively. Puri explained that the term ‘Shahi’ was derived from Urdu, and while he acknowledged the close relationship between Urdu and Hindi, he advocated for using Sanskrit or Hindi words instead to reflect a more “suitable” cultural and religious context.

The grand religious bath event will officially begin on January 13. The Uttar Pradesh administration is making efforts to ensure a clean, safe, and convenient environment for the visitors with Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath personally reviewing the preparations. Authorities are overseeing the setup of 160,000 tents and 150,000 toilets, which a team of 15,000 sanitation workers will maintain. In addition, 1,250 kilometers of pipeline, 67,000 LED lights, and 2,000 solar lights are being installed, while 300,000 plants are being added to transform the area completely.

ALSO READ| Kanwar Yatra: Nameplate Order For Eateries Issued For Entire State Amid Muzaffarnagar Row

On Tuesday, the CM said that no protocol will be applicable during the main bathing festival in the Mahakumbh Mela and flowers will be showered on saints and devotees on this occasion. 

According to a PTI report, the event draws millions of pilgrims to the banks of Ganga at Sangam, and this year, the state government is expecting a staggering 40 crore devotees to take the holy dip and make the Maha Kumbh the largest religious gathering in the world.

Mandatory vendor details during the Kanwar Yatra

Similarly during the event of Kanwar Yatra, the UP government made it mandatory for eatery shops to display owner details. CM Adityanath said that nameplates will have to be put on eateries on the Kanwar Yatra route across the state. This order came a day after the opposition slammed a similar notice by the Muzaffarnagar Police, calling it a “social crime”. In Muzaffarnagar, the police had ordered all eateries and carts selling edibles to display their names to avoid any “confusion” during the Savan month.

After Uttar Pradesh’s mandate, the Himachal Pradesh government also issued the same directives.

These directives came after several incidents of food contamination came forward. In September, a video of a teenager went viral which showed them spitting on rotis while preparing, leading to the owner’s arrest. In another case, a juice vendor in Ghaziabad was arrested for allegedly mixing urine with juiceacegame888, and earlier incidents in Noida involved two men selling juice contaminated with their saliva.

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