London:
British Sikhs have fiercely opposed a proposal to set up a halal meat plant next to a prominent gurudwara in the city of Bradford in northern England.
Food firm Pakeezah wants to convert a disused car repair workshop on Percival Street into a modern wholesale meat plant and the plans will come up for approval at a local meeting on Tuesday.
But Bradford's Sikh community fears the redevelopment could mean the smell of meat wafting into the Guru Gobind Singh Gurudwara building.
"Many of our people are strict vegetarians and the notion of meat being so near to the temple is disrespectful and insensitive," Kuldip Kaur Bharj, secretary of the Board of Bradford Gurudwaras, told the Bradford Telegraph.
"The analogy of putting a pork butcher beside a mosque or synagogue is a good one. Although we do not eat halal meat, we do not condemn it as repugnant because we do respect other religions.
"It is really that the smell of meat is very offensive for people who don't eat it," Bharj said.
There are also concerns that beef might be processed at the site, which is only yards from the Sikh temple.
"The cow is viewed as a sacred animal and beef is prohibited in Sikhism as it is in Hinduism," Bharj said.
In a letter to the local council planning officer, gurudwara president Kuldeep Duley wrote: "A butchery plant should be on an industrial estate rather than next to a place of worship and community centre where people will be exposed to the disgraceful smell and noise.
"We are also concerned the wash from the plant will feed rats in the drains, increasing the rodent problem already in the area."
'Pakeezah' director Tariq Haq stressed that his business involved only chicken, mutton and lamb.
"We would never dream of doing anything that might cause offence to our neighbours and many of our customers are Sikhs. It will be a modern and hygienic plant with no smells, as all the product arrives below 4 degrees Celsius. We have also had a noise report done which satisfied the council," he said.
All concerns will now be discussed at a planning committee meeting scheduled for August 13.