Cattle traders and district administration officials on Monday clashed in Sector I-11 as longstanding tension over the issue of shifting the cattle market’s location went up a notch.
District administration and Capital Development Authority (CDA) have been asking merchants to move to Sector I-12 for days. On Monday, the government officials reached the cattle market and tried to force the issue. However, the enraged traders refused to shift the market and raised slogans against the government. Some merchants had left early in the morning after the administration issued warning. However a majority of the cattle merchants refused to follow the orders and insisted that they would not move so close to Eid. They said that they had paid heavy fees to keep their animals in Sector I-11 and could not afford to move to another place.
They blocked the I-11 road by staging a sit in and burning tyres. After a strong reaction from the merchants, the administration retreated.
