ISLAMABAD, Jul 1 (ABC): As the holy Eid ul-Azha is drawing near, majority cattle markets elsewhere in the country including the capital city are brimming with eye-catching heavyweight and unique name sacrificial animals, welcoming buyers in huge numbers.
Citizens of all ages are seen to be visiting different localities for buying sacrificial animals and the traders from far flung areas have also started roaming in capital streets with their animals to attract buyers, said a report. All kind of animals including cows, bulls, camels, goats, lambs are becoming the part of cattle markets across the country, proving to be equally important for the Islamic festival, said a trader.
Citizens specially youngsters are enjoying the best time while enjoying around at ‘Maweshi Mandi’ (cattle market), after attaching the unique names of animals for sacrifice, said a citizen.
To attract more buyers, sacrificial animals are decorated with colorful garlands, sterling bands, embellished belts and crowns, said another customer. A trader in Rawalpindi cattle market, who also appeared with heavyweight white-colored bull to attract the citizens, said every farm owner was proud of their merchandise, adding, “I feed my cattle healthy food, which consists of butter and milk”. On the other hand, a citizen complained that the prices of sacrificial animals had been hiked almost 100% ahead of Eid.
“Cattle traders are fleecing people with exorbitantly high prices for sacrificial animals that has made it difficult, if not impossible, for common citizens to sacrifice,” he said. He demanded the authorities concerned to control inflated prices of sacrificial animals, adding, they should introduce some price regulatory mechanism to curb unfair pricing of sacrificial animals for easing the burden on low and middle-income citizens.
Another trader also said that most cattle traders were now posting photos and videos of their animals on social media platforms, where customers were placing their orders and reservations online for sacrifices.