Cattle traders at the Sohrab Goth cattle market are in a dilemma, their tents have fallen down and their cattle are vulnerable to disease but no one from the administration is helping them, despite claims to the contrary. PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN/EXPRESS
KARACHI: After Saturday’s rainfall and strong winds, cattle handlers at Sohrab Goth cattle market, Asia’s largest cattle market, had managed to restore things to normal. However, the early morning downpour on Sunday put a halt to their work and wrought even more devastation.
Most of the tents at the market have fallen down, the special sand brought to soften the earth for the cattle’s hooves has dissolved, the lighting system has failed and the market’s generators have stopped working due to the rain. The turnout at the market on Sunday was less than 10% of its usual crowd, with mostly young men out for a trip rather than serious buyers.
According to Mustafa Burney of Sahara Cattle, they had dealt with the rainfall’s aftermath on Saturday night, engaging all their manpower to attract customers who were expected to arrive on the weekend.
“We were prepared for the customers on Sunday but the rain and mismanagement of the Cattle Market Association has brought great disappointment,” said Burney. He said that around 10 inches of water had accumulated at the market and if it was left for more than a day. The cattle are at risk of becoming sick and catching diseases, he added.
Burney claimed that no one from the administration had approached them to see what the rains have cost the cattle traders. He claimed they were busy with photo sessions with the media instead.
The young owners of the alHakeem Cattle Farm tent sat in one corner, morosely gazing at their wrecked tent. Salman Ali, 19, said that it was a joint venture with his two college friends, Osama Aslam and Wajahat Khan. He said that their tent was a Rs80 million investment, adding that they are unsure about what to do now as it seems customers will not come to the market for the next few days as they cannot comfortably navigate their way through the area.
Ali Akbar of Booji Cattle Farm said that all the tents were well-decorated just a day ago and it almost looked like a wedding was being held at the market. Now, we are all sitting under the open sky like flood victims, he lamented. “Rain is natural but the inefficiency of the market’s administration has made it into a disaster,” he said, adding that they saw some people using machines to pump out the collected water but only in the front of the market. “We are also located in the VIP section and have paid them a huge amount but they are only working [in the front] to appease the media,” claimed Akbar.
Traders whose tents are located behind the VIP section, commonly known as the katcha area, expressed their disappointment with the arrangements. Abdul Hakeem Ahmedani, who arrived from Rahim Yar Khan with 50 cattle, said that next time he would go to Lahore instead of Karachi as the administration here is only concerned with earning money instead of helping hardworking cattle farmers.
Ahmedani said their profit for the whole year is dependent on their sales at the cattle market and expressed his worry about the state of their finances after this poor show at the market.
On the other hand, the cattle market’s administrator, Jahangir Chaudhary, claimed the market is working to provide immediate relief to the traders. According to a press release, as per the request of the Cantonment Board Malir, the Pakistan Army has dispatched bowzers and machinery to aid in clearing the water from the market.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 29th, 2016.
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