The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) on Monday imposed a ban on non-vegetarian food stalls alongside public roads, putting street vendors in a fix. 

“Stalls selling non-vegetarian items will not be allowed along public roads and in the 100-meter radius of schools, colleges and religious places, Town Planning Committee of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has decided,” said Committee Chairperson Devang Dani, ANI reported. 

Also Read: Food blogger tries ‘Tikki rasgulla chaat’, her reaction goes viral

People in the city, especially the morning walkers, were reportedly complaining of a “bad smell.”

Reacting to the same, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said that people in the state were free to eat whatever they want to and that this was a move against road encroachments.

“Some people eat vegetarian food, some people eat non-vegetarian food, the BJP government does not have any problem with it. There have been demands to remove particular ‘larries’ (carts) from the road. Our only concern is that, the food sold from food carts should not be unhygienic,” the Chief Minister said, PTI reported. 

“Local municipal corporations or municipalities take decisions to remove food carts. They can do so if they are obstructing traffic on city roads,” he added. 

Also Read: Bizarre combination: Man selling Oreo Pakode in Ahmedabad goes viral

Meanwhile, following the ban, several pushcart owners and street vendors questioned the logic behind the decision as non-veg food continues to be sold in hotels and restaurants in the city.

“How does it make sense to ban us and allow hotels. Won’t the smell (of non-veg food) come from there?” Rakesh, a street vendor in Ahmedabad, told news agency ANI.

Another vendor named Sundar alleged, “I’ve learnt about the ban on egg carts, but I’m a sandwich seller and my cart was also taken.”