Hyderabad: Amid bad weather, traders of livestock maintain extra vigil

Hyderabad: Ahead of Bakrid (Eid-ul-Adha) which will be celebrated on Sunday, sheep and goats are in demand. The animal traders are anxious with the intermittent rain lashing the city. They said they would be facing huge losses if the bad weather continues. They have put up halogen bulbs at stalls to keep the animals dry and avert possibility of attracting any disease.

Depending on the size and breed, traders who have setup stalls on roadside in Falaknuma, Chandrayanagutta, Barkas, Malakpet, Chanchalguda, Engine Bowli, Kalapatthar, Bahadurpura, Kishan Bagh, Asifnagar, Mehdipatnam, Tolichowki, Golconda are hopeful of selling of their stock before the festival, as with this on and off rain, animals would be facing health issues; most of them would die, say traders.

Some traders attribute the rise in prices and low supply of animals to different factors, including higher transportation costs, heavy rain and floods in different States. "With sheep arriving to the city in wet condition following heavy rain in different States and from other parts of City, we traders have put up halogen bulbs at stalls to keep animals dry and avert possibility of attracting any disease," said Mohammed Imtiaz, a trader at Malakpet.

It has been observed that Muslims buying sheep for annual ritual sacrifice have to shell out extra money than the previous years. Traders are facing hardship on account of the season, increased transportation costs and securing clearance certificates (like fit to slaughter and fit to travel).

Shaik Iqbal, a trader at Khilwath, said for 16 years he has been doing this seasonal business. This year price of sheep has gone up because of rain--which affected transportation from districts and other States--besides lack of stock in the city market. "Even though animals come from Jalpally and Jiyaguda farms, but due to huge demand sheep are procured from Bhongir, Nalgonda, Mahbubnagar, Gadwall, Sangareddy, Zaheerabad, Vikarabad, Tandur, Kurnool and from Karnataka, Maharashtra, AP, MP and UP," he said.

A trader, at Tolichowki who had bought livestock from Shadnagar, told The Hans India that there has been very strict rules/regulations to bring stock to the City, after getting all certificates and receipts, after examination of animals the concerned authority is issuing certificates. (fit to be slaughtered or fit to travel).

Akhlaq Ahmed, another trader, said the sheep come in different types like Telangana 'Potla', 'Dumba', 'Kadga', 'Nasi', 'Khassi', 'Menda', 'Jamunapuri' with (long ears). Khassi is the costliest breed which starts from Rs 50,000 a pair.Depending on size the price may touch Rs 1 lakh. It is bred as pet in most households in the countryside of UP and MP. He said the price may differ a night before Eid, as per the market situation.

Maulana Mohammed Rizwan Qureshi, Khatib of Mecca Masjid, said "a sacrificial sheep or goat has to be over one year, a sacrificial bull, ox or buffalo has to be above two years; the animal should be free from obvious defects."