— Vendors are being charged 1100 for each cow, 700 for each goat in contradiction to auctioned price, 500, and 250, respectively
Following a heavy downpour with strong gusts of wind, Islamabad’s cattle market witnessed the huge setup of the cattle market, including marquees and tents, fall down due to the thunderstorm.
On Thursday morning, it appeared as if a flood had swept away the site of the cattle market situated at sector I-12. The temporary cattle market has been made operational from 1st Zil Hajj ie August 23, 2017 to Eid ul Azha.
With just a little over 10 days to go for the traditional festival of Eidul Azha, vendors now fear that the recent rain may cause illnesses to the animals and sale of sacrificial animals has picked up momentum in the capital’s cattle markets where cows, buffalos, goats, sheep and camels are being herded in from Punjab, Sindh and different far flung districts of K-P in a bid to get maximum profit in the lucrative market of Islamabad.
When contacted, MCI’s DMA official said that the heavy rain in wee hours till the morning made it difficult for the vendors to move freely in the mud crash. “Due to unsuitable, unplanned market, some vehicles were also stuck in the mud and barely got themselves out of this worrisome trouble; our CDA’s water tanker also got stuck and went back due to the same reason. Therefore, mostly vendors and animals suffered due to lack of water,” he said, while requesting anonymity.
It is noteworthy that vendors are being charged 1,100 for each cow, 700 for goat by the contractor in contradiction of auctioned price, 500, and 250, respectively; while the MCI’s officials naps sluggishly. However, many vendors and visitors, speaking to Pakistan Today, said that the authority have failed to provide a proper land space for the cattle market, due to undeveloped sector ie I-12, there is no proper light management, no washrooms, cleanliness, water and security.
The recently auctioned cattle market in I-12 is running without basic facilities, which irks the vendors, purchasers and forces people to think twice before visiting it. Allah Rakha, a vendor, said that he has successfully sold 28 goats out of 42 available with him in the cattle market as buyers mostly come to the markets to get an idea about the prices and then return empty-handed.
DMA director Ali Sufian said that the contractor is charging the legal fee from vendors. “They are charging lump sum 700 for each goat and 1100 for cow, buffalo, camel, including the provided space per square yard, allowed in the contract at 143 psy,” he said. He further said that DMA staff is deployed in cattle markets to facilitate the vendors with water and resolve their other complaints. “Our staff is there, they are addressing every complaint and providing water to the vendors,” he said.
The Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) on 15th August had auctioned a cattle market site in Sector I-12 for Rs72 million, Rs48.5 million higher than last year. But later, the successful bidder failed to fulfill the agreement and following which the contract was awarded to the second highest bidder, Khaksar Company at 70.3 million rupees. A press release, issued by MCI on Thursday, read, “All out arrangements should be made to facilitate the consumers and sellers so that residents of Islamabad could purchase sacrificial animals without any inconvenience.”
Islamabad Mayor and CDA Chairman Sheikh Anser Aziz directed the DMA officer to establish a site office in service area in the temporary cattle market and to constitute special vigilance team to command and control the matters of municipal temporary cattle market. He also directed to devise a mechanism for early redressal of complaints. He directed the DMA to ensure the presence of monitoring staff at the site office round the clock.
He also urged the environment and other formations of the authority to ensure that no animal sale and purchase could be made on any green belt or other area of the city. He further directed for provision of uninterrupted supply of water as well as streetlights system in the cattle market, adding that ambulance service would remain alert to cope with any untoward incident.