KANDHKOT - -With Eidul Azha just round the corner, the rates of sacrificial animals have skyrocketed and reached beyond the reach of buyers. When this correspondent went to Kandhkot’s cattle market on Sunday, he was astonished to find out that the prices of a sheep or a goat were between Rs18,000 to Rs30,000 while bulls and cows were available at prices fluctuating between Rs70,000 and Rs 130,000.
“Prices have skyrocketed this year,” said Anwar Ali, a buyer. He said when he inquired from the vendor price of a goat, he demanded Rs30,000.
He said that traders were demanding higher rates for animals, and it was very difficult for the common man to sacrifice in the remembrance of Sunnah of Prophet-Ibrahim (AS). Another buyer, Raheel, noted a 30 percent increase in prices of sacrificial animals this time, saying last year he purchased a lamb at the cost of Rs12,000 compared to this year’s rate of Rs30,000. Giving reason for the soaring prices, Mohammad Uzair, a trader at the cattle market, told The Nation high costs of fodder and the expenditures incurred on the transportation of animals and other matters were responsible for that.
Rahman Khan, a trader, told this scribe that compared to previous years, the sale of sacrificial animals had dropped this year. “However, there is a hope that sale will pick up in the last three days before Eid as buyers, particularly those rich, prefer to visit cattle markets just before the festival,” he added.