Banner on ‘mandatory holiday’ for Eid Milad at Mangaluru fishing harbour stokes controversy

MANGALURU: A banner, which has been put up at the fishing harbour in Mangaluru, has now led to a controversy. The Fish Trade Association allegedly put up a banner stating that the entire fishing harbour should be compulsorily closed for Eid-Milad, to be held on September 28.

It is also mentioned in the banner that no one should do any business at the port after 3.45 am on September 28. If any person conducts business, he will be fined and boycotted for a month.

The banner has now become a hot topic of discussion on social media. It is said that Hindu fishermen have been threatened after seeing this banner where Muslims are doing fishing business in majority.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has raised questions about the banner and said Hindu fishermen should not be afraid, and that the entire Hindu communicty is with Hindu fishermen. Hindu outfits have also demanded the police department to take immediate action against those who put up this banner.

In the meantime, the leaders of the Fishermen Association have claimed that there has been a mandatory holiday for Hindu-Muslim-Christian religious festivals for many years. “There is a compulsory holiday for three Hindu, three Muslim and two Christian festivals. Everyone is doing business in harmony and this should not be a big controversy. Some people secretly sold fish on Ganesh Chaturthi, so this banner has been put up to prevent a repeat action during Eid Milad”, it said. The association has now decided to put the details of the mandatory eight festival holidays for all three religions.