RAWALPINDI:
Shopping for sacrificial animals reached its peak on Friday, a day before Eidul Azha.
The markets were decorated traditionally, while sacrificial animals were adorned with decorations such as colourful artificial flowers and bells.
Among the many prominent personalities of the garrison city, Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed was seen in the cattle market buying animals for sacrifice.
A survey of the authorised cattle markets set up by the district administration showed that time appeared short and the competition was fierce. Some managed to get the animal of their choice, while others were left searching the market for something that fits their limited budget.
However, the prices of animals in the market were higher when compared with last year.
Meanwhile, despite claims of traffic police, the flow of vehicles was disrupted due to incorrect parking, and violations of the one-way route set up, besides attempts by transporters to manoeuvre large trucks from in between cars and motorcycles.
The worst traffic jam was witnessed in the area surrounding the cattle market at Bhata Chowk ground, causing severe difficulties for buyers and peddlers coming to the market.
The district administrations have set up as many as 10 cattle markets around Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The biggest of these was Bhata Chowk in Rawalpindi, where people were seen looking for healthy and plump animals, but would grumble on hearing the prices.
Many buyers told Daily Express that they were worried about the steep increase in rates of sacrificial animals this year.
However, traders justified the prices with a list of high overheads. A trader said that they had spent around Rs60,000 to Rs70,000 to acquire space in the market apart from paying a parking fee of Rs1,000 to Rs3,000 per animal.
They said prices of sacrificial animals could come down if the administration charged just for the electricity and water.
Traders said they invest in cattle for the entire year just to profit on Eid to run their households and that they could not sell their animals at a loss.
A citizen searching for a goat to fit his budget, said that he has been visiting different markets around the city for the past three days but could not find any animal he could afford to perform the sunnah of sacrifice.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 1st, 2020.
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