Transporters hike fares to haul sacrificial animals

Rs4,000 is being charged for hauling animals from Bhatta Chowk cattle market to inner-city areas

RAWALPINDI:

As if high prices for sacrificial animals was not enough, customers frequenting the makeshift cattle markets in Rawalpindi say they are being skinned by the transporters who have started demanding exorbitant fares for hauling their animals.

The cost to transport an animal from the Bhata Chowk cattle market to the inner-city areas of Rawalpindi has been fixed at around Rs4,000. These rates vary with the time of the day to haul the animals, going up by as much as 30 per cent after the sun sets or late at night.

Transporters have parked trucks of varying sizes inside or at the entry points of the designated cattle markets to transport sacrificial animals.

Interestingly, the rates from the market to a certain area of Rawalpindi have been covertly fixed and every transporter demands the same.

The Express Tribune on Wednesday talked to transporters including Owais Khan, Jumma Khan and Nadir Abbasi.

These transporters said that they stay in the market and go homes every two to three days, in a bid to cash in on the temporary markets. As a result, they take their meals in the market apart from pitching up temporary tents to sleep in.

Regarding the high fares, Abbasi defended them, claiming them to be completely legitimate given the costs they incur in terms of fuel and vehicle maintenance.

Buyers, however, feel that the fares should have been fixed by the government as they do for other transportation services in the district.

Abdul Aziz, Naveed Khattak and Chaudhry Asghar suggested a legitimate fare from the Bhata Chowk cattle market to different areas of the garrison city should not exceed Rs1,500 because the distance was not that much.

Fodder prices shoot up

Fodder sellers in the city to have arbitrarily increased prices. Lentils, hay, and pasture grass per kilogramme (kg) are being sold for Rs50 to Rs100.

Fodder stalls have sprouted up in almost every neighbourhood of the city with some people even investing in them to earn from this opportunity.

These roadside stalls and kiosks operate round the clock with workers working in shifts. Meanwhile, children are leaving no stones unturned to serve the best to their animals who will be no more in the next few days.

Muhammad Saif and Moiz Abbas expressed that they love and feel happy to spend their pocket money to buy fodder for their sacrificial animals.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 30^th, 2020.