Mumbai: Taking strong note of the controversy that erupted over an advertisement seeking procurement of ‘cow meat,’ the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has issued a show-cause notice to its Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) asking him to submit his clarification within three days.
According to sources, the civic General Administration Department (GAD) on Friday evening issued a show-cause notice to CPRO Vijay Khabale-Patil, seeking his clarification over the advertisement, which was published in various newspapers for the purchase of ‘cow meat.’ In the notice, the CPRO has been asked to explain as to why the goof-up over the word ‘cow-meat’ occurred in the advertisement.
“After the advertisement was published, it was the responsibility of the PRO department to check what has been printed in newspapers. If there is any error, the PRO needs to immediately issue a clarification to the concerned newspapers asking them to carry a corrigendum. Had it been done on time, the controversy would not have happened in this case. But it was not done, hence a show-cause notice has been issued,” said a senior GAD official.
On October 9, the BMC had floated an advertisement in various newspapers for the purchase of ‘cow meat,’ which will be used to feed animals at the Byculla Zoo. It created a furore in the BMC with the BJP demanding an inquiry and action against the concerned officials. The PRO department had claimed that it happened due to an error in translation over the word ‘beef.’
In Marathi, English and Urdu newspapers, which carried the advertisement, it was clearly mentioned that buffalo meat is to be purchased for animals at the Byculla Zoo. But in Hindi and Gujarati newspapers, the word buffalo was missing, leading to an error in translation of ‘beef as cow meat,’ said civic officials. The slaughter of cows, bulls, bullocks and calves, has been banned in the state under the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (amendment) Act (MAPA), 1995. It also prohibits the consumption of their meat.
When asked, Mr Khabale-Patil refused to comment on the issue.
