Cattle market auctioned for Rs80m

Sacrificial animals’ market at Bhatta Chowk to become operational on June 10

RAWALPINDI:

The contract of the cattle market at Central Bhatta Chowk was auctioned for Rs80 million.

This year, the cattle market fetched an additional Rs10 million as compared to the last year when the market was auctioned for Rs70 million.

The Rawalpindi Cantonment Board has announced to set up the temporary cattle market at Bhatta Chowk ahead of Eidul Azha to facilitate the sale and purchase of animals for the residents of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The whole area of Bhatta Chowk has been declared the sacrificial cattle market from June 10 till July 13. Bhatta Chowk is a juncture between Rawalpindi and Islamabad and covers a vast 20 acres.

A trader will have to pay Rs3,000 as entry fee for each large animal such as cow, oxen and camel and Rs2,000 for goat and sheep and lamb.

After the auction, arrangements are being put in place in the market to facilitate sellers and buyers. Water will be arranged for animals and the owners will have to pay water bills. The market will have an electricity connection. The installation of tents for shade has also begun in the market. The market has the capacity to accommodate up to 100,000 animals.

A team of veterinarians will examine the sacrificial animals’ health before it was allowed to the market. Those who sell sick or lean animals will face the consequences.

Animal sellers from surrounding areas have already started bringing animals to the market.

A separate contract for parking was also awarded and a large area has been allocated for parking vehicles.

The parking charges for vehicles had been fixed at Rs50 and for motorcycles at Rs30. Due to its proximity, residents of Islamabad will also be able to buy animals at the Bhatta Chowk cattle market.

According to the market contractor, a bull is likely to cost Rs0.25 million this year, a camel between Rs270,000 and Rs300,000, and the price can go up to Rs30,000 if the animal is found to be sturdy and ‘beautiful’. Booths for sacrificial animals and stalls selling food have been set up near the cattle market.

They said that a plan will be made in collaboration with the district administration and the traffic police to ensure law and order as well as proper sanitation. The entire market area will be sealed off from all sides to ensure tax collection, they said, adding that traders and buyers will be able to enter the market through designated entrances.

Meanwhile, the Rawalpindi district administration has imposed a ban on the sale of animals at open spots in the city. Cantonment and Chaklala boards have also prohibited the sale of animals within their respective jurisdictions.

Meanwhile, the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration will establish five cattle markets at different locations on the outskirts of the federal capital ahead of Eidul Azha.

The cattle markets would be established at Barakahu, Sultana Foundation Taramri, Sangjani/Tarnol, Railways Carriage Factory and E-11/2. It was decided in a meeting in the chair of Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Irfan Nawaz Memon Assistant commissioners, magistrates and officials from Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad attended the meeting.

The meeting decided to ensure strict implementation of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to be issued by the district administration in the wake of the Congo spread. A huge movement of livestock and mass gatherings in cattle markets always pose threats of communicable diseases like cholera, typhoid fever, Congo Crimean Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) and respiratory infections.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 7^th, 2022.