Though the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has set up a number of temporary cattle markets for Eidul Azha in Sector I-11/2 (near Railway Carriage Factory), the illegal ones are mushrooming in various other areas if the city. These unauthorised makeshift points set up amidst residential areas pose a threat to residents as the sacrificial animals there can cause an of outbreak of Congo virus or Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF).
A survey by Pakistan Today revealed on Saturday that the ‘illegal’ markets have been set up in various city sectors including I-10, I-9, H-10, H-11 and G-11. The CDA, however, seems to have turned a blind eye to this serious threat and the problems for citizens simply do not end here. As the countdown for the Eidul Azha has started, the onrush of vendors with the sacrificial animals continues. At the authorised market in Sector I-11, the vendors are demandind exorbitant prices for the animals.
These vendors have come to the capital from all over the countries, from cities such as Chakwal, Rawat, Bhalwal, Gujranwala, Sargodha, Gujrat, Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur and Sahiwal. Pakistan Today found out that this year the prices of animals are three times more than that of last year and there are fewer customers who head to these markets.
Generally and perhaps for their convenience, people prefer to buy sacrificial animals just one or two days before Eid. Most of the buyers who went to the market in Sector-I/11 on Saturday returned without purchasing any animal, in hope that prices might decrease in the next few days. Talha Shakil, a 32-year-old citizen, said the prices of sacrificial animals were very high and he could not buy even for Rs 20,000.
“I hope there will be more animals arriving in the city soon and an increase in the supply would definitely lower the prices near Eid,” he said. This year, the high inflation rate, floods and other factors have contributed to an estimated 60 to 70 percent increase in the prices of sacrificial animals. The price of an average goat, weighing about 18 to 20 kg, ranges from Rs 20,000 to 22,000.
A sheep of the same weight is however, is available for Rs 18, 000-20,000. The prices of well-groomed goats and sheep range from Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000. The price of an average cow and a calf is between Rs 60,000 to Rs 70,000 and a camel is being sold from Rs 130,000 to Rs 160,000.
The vendors expressed their concerns over low sale. Kamran Tariq, a vendor from Sargodha, said people were not buying animals due to high prices.
He said the rate might increase or decrease in the coming days. “But what can we do, we suffered heavy losses in the form of scarce supply due to the floods and high transportation costs. That’s why the prices are high this year,” he tried to explain. Anticipating the high prices of sacrificial animals this year, most of the middle-income people may prefer to take part in collective sacrifice arranged by local groups. The cost of per head collective sacrifice has, however, also increased.
It is Rs 7,500 to Rs 10,500 compared to last year’s Rs 6,000 to 7,500. Ramzan Sajid, a spokesman for CDA, said they had awarded Rs 6.5 million contract to a private contractor for sacrificial animal market in Sector I-11/2. He said the contactor would collect a tax for each cattle. “So far approximately over 5,000 animals have been brought to the market from various cities of the Punjab,” Sajid said, adding that besides provision of electricity and tents, the CDA was sending seven water tankers to the market daily.
Sajid said they had been aware of the risk of Congo virus and a team of veterinary doctors was tasked to visit the market on daily basis and examine the animals there. He said a CDA team was also tasked to check the illegal markets set up elsewhere in the city. “We would impose a fine on vendors and appeal to the citizens to avoid purchasing animals from those unauthorised markets,” he said.
Dr Waseem Khawaja, a spokesman for Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, told this scribe that the parents should avoid taking their children to cattle markets since they could be vulnerable to contract Congo virus. “I’d suggest that every buyer should take his sacrificial animal to a veterinary doctor for an examination,” Khawaja opined.
He said the offal of animals too should be properly disposed of at the points set up by city administration to control the spread of any viral disease.
