With Eidul Azha just a week away, sale of slaughtering and cooking tools is witnessing an unprecedented surge in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
A number of stalls were being established in different markets and localities ahead of Eidul Azha to sell tools used for slaughtering, cutting and cooking meat which comprised of knives, meat cleavers, barbeque tools including “Angeethi” (hand-made-oven) and steel bars.
This year Eidul Azha would be celebrated on October 27. According to the Islamic calendar, the occasion would be celebrated on the 10th, 11th and 12th of Zilhaj.
Street vendors had been roaming around the city on bicycles to sell different slaughtering tools and to sharpen blunt knives for people ahead of Eid.
A stallholder Usman Ali told news agencies that these were exceptional days for them as they could do sufficient business as compared to the other months of the year, adding that during the first two days of Eidul Azha the butcher’s would demand a high price for their services. This might be the reason why a large number of people preferred sacrificing their animals themselves to avoid any inconvenience, he said.
Another stallholder said that business of sharpening rusted tools was yet to gain momentum as Eid was still five days away, while adding that most people got their old knives and choppers sharpened before the occasion.
A shopper said that street vendors and stallholders were charging high prices for different slaughtering tools.
Purana Qila and Banni areas in Rawalpindi are considered as the two main markets where slaughtering tools are easily available at wholesale rates.
Security arrangements
finalised: The Rawalpindi Commissioner, Indad Ullah Bosal has directed the police officials to ensure foolproof security at places of Eid prayers, cattle markets and shopping markets of all the districts of the division.
According to sources, Eid vacations of police personnel, security agencies and other related departments had been cancelled in this connection.
The commissioner issued these directives in a meeting to finalise the security arrangements for Eid-ul-Azha the other day. Speaking on the occasion, the commissioner said that police officials in plain clothes would be deployed in the major markets and shopping plazas of the city to ensure proper security for the citizens.
