Festive mood at Qurbani market as sales pick up in run up to Eid

Ahead of Eid-ul-Adha, which will be celebrated in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, buyers in large numbers on Monday beelined cattle markets and roadside sheep vendors to make purchases of sacrificial animals.  

The rush also caused traffic jams at several places causing inconvenience to commuters.   

   

With purchasing of sacrificial animals expected to take place till almost second day of Eid, Kashmir will witness sale of sacrificial animals to cross sales witnessed during last few years, said  Mehraj-u-din Ganie, general secretary, All Kashmir Wholesale Mutton Dealers Association. 

Ganie said this Eid sale of sacrificial animals will cross Rs 400 crore mark.

“Since last one week sale of sacrificial animals has been more than worth Rs 200 crore which is expected to cross Rs 350 crore mark in next two days. Last year we had seen sales at almost Rs 320 crore,” he said. 

“On non-festive days, we import 40 truckloads of livestock, but from last few days it has increased to 100 truckloads as demand for sacrificial sheep soars ahead of Eid,” said Ganie.

Even as people in large numbers were seen buying the sacrificial sheep,  camels and exquisite quality of sheep such as “dumba” have become crowd-pullers in cattle mandis such as the Eidgah grounds at  Downtown here.    

Manzoor Ahmad Chaudhary, a cattle dealer from Kokernag, who recently sold two sacrificial camels says bringing them from Rajasthan for sale on Eid-ul-Adha has  witnessed a growth. Chaudhary said the merchant for whom he works has sold 60 camels across Kashmir this Eid.

“People buy this animal purely out of the passion and interest. Some people visit this mandi to only get photographed with the camel. It sells anywhere between Rs 75,000 to Rs 1.30 lakhs. Two days back we sold a camel to a Batamaloo-based businessman for Rs 1.10 lakhs,” said Chaudhary.

“We don’t get enough returns from this business as transportation cost of this animal is quite huge. In one truck, only two or three camels fit-in,” said Chaudhary.

Also known as the “Ship of Desert”, a Camel known for walking long distances does not consume water as done by other animals such as sheep and goats. Demand for Camel is not just found in Srinagar but other towns such as Anantnag ( Islamabad) and even North Kashmir.  

Meanwhile, popular markets such as Jamia market, Lal Chowk, Goni Khan, Batamaloo and several other shopping hubs across the Valley saw people buying clothes and essential commodities in large quantities.   Despite traders in the city-centre of the summer capital complaining of “shoppers spending less lavishly due to low disposable incomes” ,roadside vendors from TRC Junction to Hari Singh High Street have been witnessing brisk sale during last few days.    

People thronged bakery shops, mutton and poultry outlets leading to a surge in sale of these products. “This Eid decorated cakes have been an instant hit and more people are ordering them. We have become pro-active on social media and even letting customers to book orders on WhatsApp,” said Babar Chowdhary of Hat Trick. Women shoppers in large numbers accompanied by children were seen visiting showrooms and roadside vendors to make purchases.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

fourteen − 10 =