Soaring prices: 'Collective sacrifice' is now the preferred option

Majority of people are inclined to opt for the collective sacrifice on Eidul Azha owing to soaring prices of sacrificial animals at cattle market. With Eidul Azha just a week away, the purchasing of the sacrificial animals by the buyers has yet to gain momentum and more and more people are turning to collective qurbanis as a solution to the skyrocketing prices of sacrificial animals.
Different Islamic organisations, area mosque committees an welfare organisations have displayed banners across the city to attract willing people to participate in the collective sacrifice paying between Rs 7500 and Rs 9500 as an individual share. A majority of citizens, when asked, said it was difficult for them to buy goats or sheep because of unimaginable and uncontrollable inflation. They regretted that due to dearness it had become very difficult to perform religious rituals. "Traders have increased prices of sacrificial animals because of no price control mechanism in the country hence traders demand desired prices," said a buyer.
On the one hand, Muslims sacrifice animals with religious zeal and distribute beef and mutton among the deserving people and on the other hand some take Eidul Azha as an opportunity to show-off by buying expensive sacrificing animals to compete with like-minded people in their neighbourhood ignoring the Quranic verses about sacrificing animals. Growing trends of show-off may also be one of the reasons behind hike in prices of sacrificial animals. Meanwhile, the campaign to attract more and more people At present, there are huge numbers of animals brought to the cattle market from various villages.
Few years back, general public had purchasing-power to sacrifice goats every Eidul Azha but now middle class people lack that buying power. The average price of a sheep or a goat stands between Rs 30000 to Rs 40000 while healthy goats and sheep are available at Rs 60000 to Rs 80000. Rates of bulls and cows are also high but the collective sacrifice enable middle class people to buy such animals with shares of relatives or friends unlike the sacrifice of goats and sheep where no shares of others are allowed.