BENGLURU : The Halal versus Jhatka row surfaced again in Karnataka with Hindutva groups giving a call to the community members not to consume meat prepared through Halal cut by Muslims but to instead eat meat prepared through Jhatka cut by Hindus.

The call has been given on the occasion of the ‘Ugadi’ and ‘Hosa Toduku’ festivals. Meat is eaten during the celebration of the festivals across Karnataka. While celebrating ‘Hosa Toduku’ entire villages, cities and towns cook non-vegetarian food and invite friends and relatives to feast on it. The call for a ban on Halal meat is perceived to affect thousands of Muslim traders.

Karnataka Hindu Janjagruthi Vedike members have submitted a memorandum to the Bengaluru district magistrate demanding not to give Halal certificate to meat shops. They also demanded a ban on Halal meat and Jhatka meat for Hindus during the Ugadi festival.

Ugadi will be celebrated on Wednesday and Hosa Todaku the next day. Hindu activists have carried out an awareness march and distributed handbills in Bengaluru.

Puneeth Kerehalli, a Hindu activist, claimed that Muslim traders are dominating through Halal cut meat shops. To prevent this, an awareness campaign is being carried out, he added.

In Halal cut meat, the animal’s throat is slit and blood is drained out before cutting the meat, while in Jhatka cut, the animal’s neck is cut fully once and meat is prepared with draining blood. — IANS