The sacrificial animals have started arriving in Rawalpindi division from far-flung areas of the country for sale ahead of Eidul Azha.
These animals can be seen in Raja Bazaar, Bara Market, Fawara Chowk, Dengi Khoi, Waris Khan, Naz Cinema, College Road, Benazir Bhutto Road, Bakra Mandi, Lal Kurti, Dheri Hassanabad and Saddar Bazaar.
A visit to different sale points revealed that the animal prices are quite high and beyond the reach of the common man. Majority of the sellers of sacrificial animals are demanding very high prices as there is no price regulatory mechanism introduced by the city government. Price of a normal size goat/sheep/lamb ranges from Rs 60,000 to Rs 80,000 whereas a cow/calf from Rs120,000 to Rs 4,00,000.
On the other hand, the sellers of sacrificial animals claim that main reason behind high prices of animals are increased transportation costs as well as increase in prices of animal fodder.
Raja Atif, a calf seller from DG Khan, said that rise in transportation charges, cost of animal breeding led to the increase in the animal prices. “I can’t sell my animals on loss,” he said, adding that he was thinking of going back home as customer’s response was not very good at the moment. The high prices of sacrificial animals will affect the salaried and low income groups of the society the most, a resident of Gawalmandi said, adding that his family would probably not be able to perform this religious ritual due to high prices of the sacrificial animals this year.
On the other hand, the District Administration Rawalpindi, and Solid Waste Management Corporation (SWMC) are preparing plans to make city clean on the auspicious occasion of Eidul Azha. Meanwhile, District Administration would not allow anyone to collect hides of sacrificial animals without permission and a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the authorities concerned as per the directives of the Punjab government.
