Itanagar: Giving his clarification on the now viral order that directed all hotels and restaurants to remove all signboards with the word ‘Beef’ on them, Naharlagun extra assistant commissioner Tamo Dada on Thursday said the same was issued by his office as a “preventive measure so that the people do not make a religious issue out of it in the future.”
“The people should not get confused with the order as there is no ban on consuming beef,” Dada said, while informing that a verbal complaint was received by his office from “a group of people stating that such signboards hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindu community.”
The EAC, however, did not specify where the “group of people” was from or which community they belonged to.
“The Hindus do not consume beef as it is considered to be against their religion and they also consider the cow to be a sacred symbol of life that should be protected and revered. Moreover, nowhere in the country you would see hotels and restaurants openly flaunt ‘beef’ signboards even though they serve the meat,” Dada said.
The EAC said that the hotel and restaurant owners can rather use other words or their names which would make the people understand that they serve beef without hurting the religious sentiments of others.
“Everyone is well aware that beef is consumed by the people of the state and such hotels have been operating in Arunachal for many decades so there should be no confusion,” Dada said.
Further indicating that the order would be strictly implemented, the EAC said that his office will carry out legal procedures after the deadline for the removal of the sign is over.
“The officials will paint the signboards wherever the word ‘beef’ continues to be displayed. Also, if necessary, the office will fine any non-compliant hotel or restaurant ₹2,000 as mentioned in the order copy,” he added.
Dada’s office had on Wednesday issued an order directing all hotels and restaurants within the administrative boundary of the Naharlagun sub-division to remove signboards displaying ‘beef’ by July 18 next.
The order was issued under Section 144 of the CrPC.
The order stated that the district administration of Itanagar Capital Region believes in the secular spirit of the Indian Constitution but such open display of the word ‘beef’ on the signboards of hotels and restaurants may hurt the sentiments of some sections of the community and may create animosity between different groups.
The order instantly generated a buzz in the state, where the majority of the people consume beef. Several people also took to social media to express their outrage and resentment over the same.
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