Staff Reporter
Illegal cattle markets have been established in Karachi, exposing tall claims of the provincial authorities to implement COVID-19 SOPs ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, it was learnt on Sunday.
The police and local administration seem uninterested in taking action against illegal cattle markets established at Safoora Chowarngi, People’s Chowrangi, Nazimabad, Golimar, Liaquatabad, Orangi, Malir, Korangi, and other parts of the city.
The markets could become hotspots of COVID-19 due to a lack of precautionary measures taken against the virus. They are further causing traffic jams at major thoroughfares of the city.
It is pertinent to mention here that a special meeting of the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) at Sindh Chief Minister House on Saturday attended by Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiative Asad Umar reviewed measures ahead of the Eid-u-Azha.
Discussing the safety precautions for cattle markets in the city, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah said that the authorities have banned the sale of sacrificial animals at public places, which could only be bought at the places designated by the government for the cattle market.
“Buying and selling of animals in streets have been prohibited,” he told the NCOC session.
However, a day after the chief minister’s claim and the SOPs issued by the provincial authorities, illegal markets continued selling and purchasing of sacrificial animals in the streets without any proper COVID-19 precautionary measures.
