New Delhi, Apr 7 (PTI) The Ghazipur slaughterhouse in east Delhi will be closed from April 8 to 10 coinciding with the last three days of Navratra festival, the area's mayor has said.

East Delhi Mayor Shyam Sunder Aggarwal on Tuesday had said that the three-day closure of the abattoir was an annual exercise and "not a new order".

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He had also "appealed" to traders to keep meat shops closed during Navratra or at least on the last three days of the festival, even as the authorities said "no official order" had been issued in this connection.

Aggarwal had also claimed that during Navratra, "90 per cent of the people do not consume non-vegetarian food".

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Aggarwal's comments had stoked a controversy and drew sharp reactions on social media.

The East Delhi mayor said every year on the last three of Navratra, the Ghazipur slaughterhouse is closed, and this year it will be closed from April 8-10.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)