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Ahead of Eid-al-Adha, Covid blues hit Manimajra’s goat market
Traders said most customers were coming for window shopping, and were waiting for the prices to fall before they made a purchase
The challenges posed by the two Covid waves and the consequent lockdowns have adversely affected the celebration of festivals in the city, and Eid-al-Adha, which will be celebrated on Wednesday, is not impervious to them either.
Even till a day before the festival, goat traders of Manimajra reported minuscule sales. While customers could be seen thronging the market, the traders here said they weren’t making any money.
Jeera Khan of Manimajra, one of the oldest goat traders here, said, “Most customers are coming to do window shopping. They are waiting for the prices to fall before they make a purchase. Even today I barely sold any goats. People will come to buy them from us at the last minute.”
Eid-al-Adha or the festival of sacrifice celebrates Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of obedience to God’s will. A goat is sacrificed on this occasion, and the meat is divided into three parts: a part is kept for personal consumption, another is distributed among friends, family and neighbours; and one part is distributed among the poor.
Worst year for selling goats in 40 years
Khan has the most expensive goats in the market. Named Lallu, Kullu and Shaukeen, the three Amritsari goats that weigh around a quintal each were being sold for ₹60,000 per goat on July 19. However, Khan didn’t find any takers and had to reduce the price of the goats to ₹45,000 each on Tuesday; he was still unable to sell them. Khan added that besides 2020, this was the worst year for selling goats in over 40 years since he had started the business.
The market price, this year, was set low with most goats being sold for around ₹20,000, said one Alam from Baddi: “Due to the lockdown, people didn’t have money to spend. We would have sold the goats for double the price if it was pre-Covid time. We didn’t have anything special to feed the goats and they just survived on grazing pastures near our villages.”
In 2020, a 150-kilo goat Gabbar Singh was put on sale for ₹1.5 lakh at this mandi, however, it couldn’t be confirmed whether it was sold at the same price. In 2019, a 105-kilo Sheru was sold for ₹80,000.
A customer, Abdul Sajid of Manimajra, present here on Tuesday said he had come to the market a day before as well, but wasn’t able to strike any deal: “Everyone has been hit financially so we have been requesting the traders to offer fairer prices on the goats. Hopefully we will find a goat by today.”
Prayers to be offered early in the morning
After the pandemic started, this would be the first Eid where namaz will be offered at the mosques in the city. President of the Muslim Welfare Society, Mohammad Sadiq Sheikh, said, “Namaz will be offered early in the morning and at most masjids of the city to prevent crowding. We appeal to the people to go to the mosques close to their houses and not to collect at a place in large numbers. We will work hand-in-hand with the administration to ensure that Covid protocol is followed.”
Maulana Imran of the Manimajra mosque added that along with the namaz, he will personally request all those who attend to get themselves vaccinated.
The Chandigarh Police will also station around 300 personnel around the mosques of the city to maintain peace, manage the traffic, prevent crowding, and ensure that all Covid protocols are being followed.
