As Eid-ul-Azha is fast approaching, the already high price of sacrificial animals in the twin cities is becoming unaffordable for the common man. A few have started purchasing the animals, but others are waiting for the day after Eid when their price plummets, revealed a survey conducted by Business Recorder here on Tuesday.
A trader said that Eid-ul-Azha is around the corner but people are taking little interest in sacrificial animals due to high prices. Mostly people were of the view that prices of sacrificial animals were out of the common man's reach. Another trader said price of animals has almost doubled as compared to previous years due to increase in price of feed, transportation charges and the cost of staying in twin cities etc.
He said the price of a healthy goat is no less than Rs 15,000, while a medium weight heifer may cost around Rs 40,000 this year. He said last year price of a sheep/goat ranged between Rs 9,000 to Rs 10,000 whereas a heifer was sold between Rs 20,000 to 30,000 per head.
Bakhtiar lamented that the rising price of sacrificial animals is making it impossible for the common man to fulfil this religious obligation. A trader at a sale point revealed that some of the people have started buying sacrificial animals but majority are waiting for the prices to come down a few days after Eid. A spokesperson of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) told Business Recorder that sale points of sacrificial animals have been notified in the twin cities.
He said that the Authority has arranged sacrificial animal markets in Sector 1-11 in front of Sabzi Mandi, Noorpur Shahan (Bari Imam) and Golra Sharif. He further revealed that the Authority has constituted 5 teams, including members from law enforcement agencies and Ministry of Environment. These teams have the authority to arrest and fine any person who has established sale point on his own. He further said that every action would be taken to ensure rules and regulations are followed.