Cattle market: No vaccination for animals in city’s markets
From small setups to wholesalers, nobody has bothered to take precautionary measures.
ISLAMABAD:
With Eidul Azha round the corner, little precaution is being taken against communicable diseases caused by exposure to sacrificial animals. There is no vaccination facility in the cattle market for the animals brought to the capital by vendors from across the country.
Muhammad Khan, a vendor in the city cattle market, who brought 18 goats with him from Attock, told The Express Tribune that there was no need for vaccination as all of the animals were active and healthy. Sattori, another vendor hailing from Swat, also did not feel any compulsion to get his animals vaccinated, saying that it was the duty of doctors to come for vaccination if they had any such issue.
The main market has been set up by CDA in Sector I-11 for 13 days. The CDA gave the cattle market to a contractor for Rs6.5 million. Last year, CDA got Rs3.5 million from auctioning the same green area for the cattle market. Around 200,000 animals are kept in the main market, said an official of the civic body. The contractor charges between Rs100 to Rs300 against each animal from the vendors, he added.
Capital Development Authority (CDA) Deputy Director Hassan Rizvi said, “It is not possible for CDA Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA) to ensure vaccination for all the animals.”
He added, “We only ensure spraying of insect repellent at cattle market daily as a preventive measure against dengue and Congo fevers.”
A market set up near Metro Cash and Carry is no exception. An official of the Islamabad Capital Administration said a goat was found dead there on Friday morning. “I told the contractor that goats in the market needed vaccination but no one listened,” an employee of the mall told The Express Tribune.
The mall administration said they had provided space to vendors in its premises for 10 days for Rs0.5 million, but vaccination and other related issues were the responsibility of the contractor.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 6th, 2011.
With Eidul Azha round the corner, little precaution is being taken against communicable diseases caused by exposure to sacrificial animals. There is no vaccination facility in the cattle market for the animals brought to the capital by vendors from across the country.
Muhammad Khan, a vendor in the city cattle market, who brought 18 goats with him from Attock, told The Express Tribune that there was no need for vaccination as all of the animals were active and healthy. Sattori, another vendor hailing from Swat, also did not feel any compulsion to get his animals vaccinated, saying that it was the duty of doctors to come for vaccination if they had any such issue.
The main market has been set up by CDA in Sector I-11 for 13 days. The CDA gave the cattle market to a contractor for Rs6.5 million. Last year, CDA got Rs3.5 million from auctioning the same green area for the cattle market. Around 200,000 animals are kept in the main market, said an official of the civic body. The contractor charges between Rs100 to Rs300 against each animal from the vendors, he added.
Capital Development Authority (CDA) Deputy Director Hassan Rizvi said, “It is not possible for CDA Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA) to ensure vaccination for all the animals.”
He added, “We only ensure spraying of insect repellent at cattle market daily as a preventive measure against dengue and Congo fevers.”
A market set up near Metro Cash and Carry is no exception. An official of the Islamabad Capital Administration said a goat was found dead there on Friday morning. “I told the contractor that goats in the market needed vaccination but no one listened,” an employee of the mall told The Express Tribune.
The mall administration said they had provided space to vendors in its premises for 10 days for Rs0.5 million, but vaccination and other related issues were the responsibility of the contractor.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 6th, 2011.