ISLAMABAD: After driving to the I-12 from Sadiqabad, Mohammad Azhar struggled to find parking space at the cattle market set up by the Metropolitan Corportation Islamabad (MCI).

The MCI auctioned the market for Rs70 million, but has not provided necessary facilities.

“First it took around an hour to reach the mandi from Pindora because of a traffic jam, and now traffic here is a mess and there is no parking area,” Mr Azhar said.

I-12 is located next to the carriage factory, and I.J. Principal Road is the main road used to travel to the cattle market. The road is already known for being congested, but has seen increasing traffic due to the influx of vehicles loaded with animals.

Customers in Rawalpindi turn to illegal markets

“It is the [MCI’s] responsibility to organise the cattle market well, but it seems they were only interested in awarding the contract,” said Khurshid Mahmood, an animal seller who brought 16 animals from Mian Channu.

While the centre of the cattle market has electricity, the rest of the area does not.

Mr Mahmood said: “We are in a fix. We pay Rs1,200 against each animal to enter the market, but there is no electricity here... We are eight friends, and four keep watch during the night as we have cash that could be stolen.”

The market is set up near a garbage dump, and the vendors are also not provided drinking water.

Mohammad Ashraf, an animal seller, said: “We are forced to drink either mineral water or sugarcane juice from vendors.”

He added that the customer response so far has been satisfactory, and they are expecting a big gathering of customers on Friday.

Mr Ashraf added that there are no medical facilities for animals.

“People here don’t have drinking water, what to talk about medical facilities for animals,” said Ghulam Hussain, who said he had heard other animal sellers say there was a medical camp but, no one had contacted them.

“Maybe there would be a camp to complete formalities, but our animals are not being provided any such facility,” he said.

However, vendors said animals are being provided water regularly through a tanker service.

Deputy Commissioner retired Capt Mushtaq Ahmed recently chaired a meeting during which he directed Ali Sufian, the director of the MCI’s municipal administration directorate, to improve electricity and water provision and the parking issue. However, it appears the MCI did not take the directive seriously, as vendors and buyers are still facing problems.

However, Chief Metropolitan Officer Asad Mehboob Kayani said: “Today, the DMA director told me there are no lighting or parking problems – everything is going well. If there are issues, we will look into it. I would also visit the cattle market.”

Rawalpindi

With Eidul Azha just two days away, the district administration has not activated its cattle markets, and most vendors have established their own markets in different parts of the city.

The Rawalpindi district administration established three sales points in the city areas, on Committee Chowk, Khayaban-i-Sir Syed and Adiala Road, but vendors selling sacrificial animals have been seen roaming the streets and at sales points they have established illegally.

A number of people also prefer visiting the illegal cattle markets at Banni Chowk near Banni police station, in Ghazi Market, Dhoke Chaudhrian, Dhoke Ratta and Ganjmandi and on Jamia Masjid Road and I.J. Principal Road.

Speaking to Dawn, buyers also said sacrificial animals were out of reach and their prices were sky rocketing each year. Most people, they said, preferred to buy cows or bulls, which can be bought together by seven people, adding that transport charges would increase the cost of the animal. Chaklala Scheme-III resident Mohammad Tariq bought a cow for Rs165,000 in Dhoke Chaudhrian.

He said he would suggest people visit these markets, rather than face transport charges by travelling all the way to Adiala Road.

Azhar Raja bought a sheep for Rs60,000 on Jamia Masjid Road because he did not have the time to visit a cattle market.

He said sellers on roads were better if one wants to save on transport charges. He said he was not aware of the Committee Chowk cattle market set up by the administration.

But Mukha Singh Estate resident Mohammad Anwar said there were few animals at Committee Chowk, and no variety, and so people had to travel out of the city or to Islamabad.

He said he bought a cow for Rs135,000 from the Rewat cattle market and had to pay an additional Rs3,000 to bring the cow to his home.

When contacted, Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC) CEO Khalid Goraya said the RMC had allocated space for cattle markets where the livestock and health departments had set up camps to check animals.

He said vendors and buyers did not visit these points despite the provision of facilities for them, but crowds may gather a day before Eid.

He added that the RMC had arrested nine animal sellers on Ghazni Road at Bagh Sardaran and confiscated 26 animals that they were selling on the main roads.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2017