With only one day left for Eid-ul-Adha, people thronged to cattle markets to buy sacrificial animals but many of the animals remained unsold because of their sky-high prices.
After receiving salaries, the government and private sector employees also visited the markets on the first official holiday on Wednesday, however, most of them seemed complaining about inflated animal rates, while on the other side, cattle sellers claimed that insufficient supply from Punjab and Sindh provinces had driven the prices high.
Cattle markets have visitors in large numbers but serious buyers are a few. People mostly ask about the prices, take selfies with animals, and go away, some sellers told media.
Meanwhile, cattle traders insisted that affluent people preferred goats and sheep for health reasons as they feared that the other sacrificial animals were infected with cattle skin disease. A visit to different sale points also revealed that the price of a normal-size goat, sheep, or lamb ranges from Rs 65,000 to Rs 75,000, whereas a medium-size cow and calf ranged from Rs 140,000 to Rs 300,000.
Transporting animals from south Punjab to cities like Lahore, Rawalpindi or Faisalabad had become a pricey affair, Imran Ali, a livestock trader from Narang Mandi, said. When asked about the high prices, he replied that last year a truck carrying animals to Lahore from Mithan Kot and Dera Ghazi Khan would charge Rs 48,000 to 50,000, but this year they were demanding around Rs 95,000 to 100,000 for the same task. Security, cleanliness, animal health and other facilities provided by the local body and caretaker set up, were seemed better this year, however, effects of the heavy rain on Monday morning could not be washed out till Wednesday.
Meanwhile, keeping in view the security measures regarding the Congo virus and lumpy skin diseases, the Minister for Local Government & Community Development (LG&CD) Ibrahim Murad had already issued instruction that only healthy animals should be allowed to be brought to the cattle markets while the entry points of cities should be sprayed to prevent the Congo virus.
Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) also provided their cleanliness services in cattle markets and the city and also set up an control room for cleanliness operation during all three days of Eid. Meanwhile, Department of Local Government had established 118 cattle markets and 182 cattle sale points across the province for the convenience of the people to purchase sacrificial animals for Eid-ul-Azha.
