LAHORE, Pakistan: As only about 16 days are left in Eid-ul-Azha, people have started planning in favour of combined sacrifice this year largely due to high rates of sacrificial animals in Lahore.
The cattle markets in different districts of Punjab are yet to gain momentum.
The traders have been seen convincing people and potential buyers, and due to high prices little interest has been generated so far.
Livestock traders in at Bakra mandi in Lahore told the state-run news agency on Tuesday that the prices, as compared to last two years, have gone up by almost 20 to 30 percent. This brings in the implication that single ‘qurbani’ would not be within the reach of majority who would thus opt for combined sacrifice at the forthcoming Eid.
The average price of a healthy goat has escalated to Rs 35,000, cow Rs 55,000 to 70,000 at the Bakra mandi.
“The rates are beyond my budget, and it’s not possible for me to carry out this obligation,” said Usman Mughal.
“I think more than half of the population in city will not be able to sacrifice animals this Eid”, noted Imran an employee of a private organization.
Yousaf Khan, a cattle trader from Hyderabad said, “So many animals were killed in the floods four years ago which hit the breeding and this is basically the reason for the high rates”, he said.
Another trader, Sabir Khan, was not convinced that floods were the only cause of the problem: “Animals are being smuggled to other countries”, he alleged.
A buyer regretted that no “price control mechanism” seems to be in place, with the result that traders were demanding prices according to their sweet will. He added that he would pool his funds with others and buy an animal next week ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.
