Muzaffarnagar Nameplate Controversy
– Photo : Amar Ujala
Expansion
The shopkeepers have become restless as the name and identity of the operators has been made mandatory on the food shops on the Kanwar route. With the government’s decision, shopkeepers in Muzaffarnagar are putting up flexes with their names on the shops on the Kanwar route. Muslim employees are also being removed from the dhabas till the Kanwar Yatra. At many places, the employees have voluntarily refused to come.
For the past seven years, Brijesh Pal, a daily wage labourer, used to work at a roadside dhaba in Muzaffarnagar’s Khatauli area during the two months of Shravan to help his Muslim owner manage the huge rush of customers, mainly kanwariyas. For this work, he used to get Rs 400-600 and at least two meals every day.
However, this year his boss Mohammad Arsalan has asked him to look for another job as he was not able to hire additional staff. He feels that his earnings will be affected due to the orders given by the Uttar Pradesh government to hotel, restaurant and eatery owners.