Mysore/Mysuru: A day after the Ugadi festival, mutton and chicken stalls across the city witnessed a huge rush of customers who thronged the shops to purchase meat for celebrating Hosthodku which is usually celebrated by non-vegetarian Hindus a day after Ugadi.

While the first day of Ugadi begins with pujas, a grand feast of non-vegetarian delicacies takes place the next day called ‘Hosthodku’ and there is a tradition of distributing meat among relatives and guests.

With the day also happening to be a Sunday this year, people began visiting the meat stalls right from early morning and stood in queues to buy mutton, which was sold at prices ranging from Rs. 600 to Rs. 650 a kg. An unusual rush was also witnessed at chicken and fish stalls.

All mutton and chicken stalls in densely populated areas such as K.G.Koppal, Kumbarakoppal, Hebbal, Gokulam, Mandi Mohalla and N.R. Mohalla saw long queues of customers in the early morning itself.

People preferred mutton and those who did not get their share rushed to the city outskirts. Many areas beyond Ring Road practice a meat-selling system of ‘Gudde Mamsa.’ Here, the animal is slaughtered and sold on-the-spot where meat is grouped into small heaps (Gudde).

Leaders of ‘Sakalentu Jaati Sahabalwe Sangha’, KRRS (Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha) and DSS (Dalit Sangharsha Samiti) purchased mutton at a shop at Shantinagar on Mahadevapura Main Road, as a show of solidarity for maintenance of peace and harmony between communities and castes.

They also distributed Bevu-Bella (jaggery and neem) to all customers who visited the meat shop. The Police had provided tight security around all mutton and chicken stalls and other meat outlets in the city as a precautionary measure for ensuring law and order.

There are over 400 licenced meat shops in the Mysuru City Corporation limits and all the meat comes from the slaughterhouse at Kesare.