Days ahead of Bakri Eid, around 35 trucks full of goats, buffaloes, and chickens collectively worth Rs 10 crore are stopped at Maharashtra-Gujarat border. This comes days after the Maharashtra government banned the sale of goats in the open markets.
According to a report by Mid-Day, these trucks are stuck at the Gujarat-Maharashtra border since 2 am on Monday, as they have not been allowed entry in view of government guidelines. Khwaja Ibrahim Qureshi, an exporter of goats, told the leading daily that he bought goats from Ajmer and was supposed to sell them at markets in Mumbai, Mira Road, Jogeshwari, Mumbra and other locations. But the cops are not allowing them to enter the state saying there is a restriction on transporting cattle till August 5.
According to the state government guidelines, there is a ban in place on all religious programmes and people should offer "namaz" in their homes and not in mosques. It also said sacrificial animals should be bought online or over the phone as markets dealing with them will be closed, adding that "qurbani" should preferably be symbolic.
Meanwhile, a drastic drop in supply and the closure of the Deonar abattoir has spiked prices of goats for slaughter in the city, news agency PTI reported. This, at a time when sellers in other parts of the country have complained that they are not able to find buyers for their goats.
The price of goats in Mumbai has increased from around Rs 20,000 earlier to Rs 30,000 now, making it out of reach for several families who want to carry out the traditional sacrifice during the festival, it said.
