BAN// The beef-loving people of Maharashtra will have to do without the red meat as a bill banning cow slaughter in Maharashtra got the President’s nod after 20 years. The bill was initiated during the earlier Sena-BJP government that ruled the state in 1996. The law spells out a sentence of five years jail term, along with a fine of Rs 10,000 for anyone found selling beef or in possession of it. Beef traders across Maharashtra went on strike over a week, immediately after the ban in protest of the alleged harassment being meted out to the traders across the state. It was only after Chief Minister Devender Fadnavis assured the traders to look into the matter and protect the interests of the beef traders after a delegation met him was the strike called off. “Thanks a lot Hon President Sir for the assent on Maharashtra Animal Preservation Bill. Our dream of ban on cow slaughter becomes a reality now,” tweeted Fadnavis.