The Varanasi Municipal Corporation has approved a proposal to relocate all meat and fish shops operating within city limits to designated sites on the outskirts, officials said on June 7. The move is aimed at improving urban management, maintaining cleanliness, and streamlining commercial activities.
The decision was taken during a governing body meeting held at the Town Hall in Maidagin on June 6, chaired by Mayor Ashok Kumar Tiwari. The meeting reviewed several issues related to urban development, encroachment control, and public welfare, with the relocation of meat and fish markets emerging as one of the most significant resolutions.
Public Relations Officer Sandeep Srivastava said the municipal corporation has approved a phased plan to relocate meat and fish markets from within the city to designated sites on the outskirts. Municipal Commissioner Himanshu Nagpal told the House that five locations have already been identified for the first phase of the relocation drive.
Officials said the identified locations have been chosen near the city’s outer boundaries to reduce inconvenience for residents. As part of the relocation plan, meat and fish shops currently operating within Varanasi city limits will be shifted to designated markets in Ramnagar, Sujabad, Ganeshpur, Avleshpur and Shivpur.
According to Srivastava, nearly 350 to 400 meat and fish shops are currently functioning across the city. Authorities said the relocation is intended to improve sanitation, regulate market operations more effectively and maintain convenient access for consumers.
Varanasi Municipal Corporation says- The Municipal Corporation has made a decision to keep the city organised and clean. Under this initiative, all meat and fish shops will be relocated outside the city limits. The roadmap for this move was finalised and the proposal approved…
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) June 7, 2026
During the meeting, corporator Gulshan Ali noted that a proposal to move meat and fish shops outside the city had been introduced nearly a year ago but was not implemented effectively. He also raised concerns voiced by traders, stating that the annual closure of meat shops during the holy month of Shravan has a significant impact on the livelihoods of those dependent on the meat trade.
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh: Mayor Ashok Kumar Tiwari on the proposal to shift meat and fish shops outside Varanasi city says, "…There are no shops that are legal; all of them are illegal shops. None of them are authorised and all of them are operating illegally. We will make them… pic.twitter.com/312g99wiEi
— IANS (@ians_india) June 7, 2026
Addressing the concerns, Municipal Commissioner Himanshu Nagpal informed the House that suitable land has already been identified on the outskirts of the city and that steps to implement the relocation plan will begin shortly.
Mayor Ashok Kumar Tiwari said the municipal corporation aims to complete the shift of meat and fish markets within the next six months. He maintained that the shops currently operating within city limits are unauthorised and argued that relocating them is necessary given that Varanasi receives lakhs of tourists every year.
