Animal traders say govt can’t enforce rules
Traders say govt unable to effectively control the price of sacrificial animals ahead of Eid, bribery common.
LAHORE:
The city government has stopped animal traders from setting up shop on main roads, but has not been able to effectively control the price of sacrificial animals ahead of Eid, said traders at the Shahpur Kanjran cattle market.
“The market is not regulated because it would be a nightmare for the authorities to control the sea of traders,” said Asif, a local trader at the open-air market, which is a vast compound of tents and pens teeming with goats, sheep and buffaloes.
“The town municipal officer (TMO) knows that he would invite trouble by coming here,” said Allah Yaar, another trader. He said the police could be bribed if they penalised the traders for selling at unauthorised locations. “Everyone knows if you give Rs 100 to Rs 500 you can get off,” he said.
Asif said that the government had been able to keep traders from setting up sale points on main roads, but not on side roads. “The issue is influence and money. If you have influence or give them money, you will not be disturbed,” he said.
Other traders said that the clashes between animal sellers and the police on Monday had been provoked by policemen unhappy that ‘encroachers’ were not bribing them. “Things had calmed down once senior officers arrived at the scene,” said one trader who said he witnessed the incident.
Asif said that the market had been compromised by “mafias” which made the place a “partial no-go area”. He said that the traders would be willing to follow the rules related to price and encroachment, but only after the government took the traders’ wishes on board.
He said that at the beginning of Ramadan, the city government had told the traders to shift to Raiwind. “The issue was not moving to Raiwind, but the lack of facilities there. The local slaughterhouse is merely a block away from the current market,” Asif said.
Asif said that the export of meat by big companies had created a shortfall domestically, leading to a surge in prices.
He said the only way the government would get traders to comply is through a public awareness campaign and education. “I think only 20 per cent of people know about the rules,” he said.
Iqbal Town TMO Arif Chaudhry dismissed the traders’ claims about bribery as a “fairy tale”, but he conceded that the market was tough to control. “It is over 770 kanals with traders from all over Pakistan. They come to do business all year round so regulation can be difficult,” he said.
He said the huge market should be broken down into smaller markets and spread across the city so that one single area does not have to absorb the extra congestion ahead of Eid.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 11th, 2010.
The city government has stopped animal traders from setting up shop on main roads, but has not been able to effectively control the price of sacrificial animals ahead of Eid, said traders at the Shahpur Kanjran cattle market.
“The market is not regulated because it would be a nightmare for the authorities to control the sea of traders,” said Asif, a local trader at the open-air market, which is a vast compound of tents and pens teeming with goats, sheep and buffaloes.
“The town municipal officer (TMO) knows that he would invite trouble by coming here,” said Allah Yaar, another trader. He said the police could be bribed if they penalised the traders for selling at unauthorised locations. “Everyone knows if you give Rs 100 to Rs 500 you can get off,” he said.
Asif said that the government had been able to keep traders from setting up sale points on main roads, but not on side roads. “The issue is influence and money. If you have influence or give them money, you will not be disturbed,” he said.
Other traders said that the clashes between animal sellers and the police on Monday had been provoked by policemen unhappy that ‘encroachers’ were not bribing them. “Things had calmed down once senior officers arrived at the scene,” said one trader who said he witnessed the incident.
Asif said that the market had been compromised by “mafias” which made the place a “partial no-go area”. He said that the traders would be willing to follow the rules related to price and encroachment, but only after the government took the traders’ wishes on board.
He said that at the beginning of Ramadan, the city government had told the traders to shift to Raiwind. “The issue was not moving to Raiwind, but the lack of facilities there. The local slaughterhouse is merely a block away from the current market,” Asif said.
Asif said that the export of meat by big companies had created a shortfall domestically, leading to a surge in prices.
He said the only way the government would get traders to comply is through a public awareness campaign and education. “I think only 20 per cent of people know about the rules,” he said.
Iqbal Town TMO Arif Chaudhry dismissed the traders’ claims about bribery as a “fairy tale”, but he conceded that the market was tough to control. “It is over 770 kanals with traders from all over Pakistan. They come to do business all year round so regulation can be difficult,” he said.
He said the huge market should be broken down into smaller markets and spread across the city so that one single area does not have to absorb the extra congestion ahead of Eid.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 11th, 2010.