SOCIETY: MUTTON HUNGER

When the Wazwaan country is deprived of its staple food, it is a crisis for the government and the society that still is stalemate, reports Khalid Bashir Gura

-  Khalid Bashir Gura

Soon after finishing morning prayers, Suhail Ahmad, an Anantnag resident, travels to nearby districts in his car in search of mutton for his sister who recently delivered a baby. He buys it at Rs 600, a kilogram from various butchers who work in early morning hours.

Since November 2020, the mutton dealers and administration are at loggerheads over mutton prices. Last year, the divisional administration proposed Rs 480 for mutton per kilogram which the dealers did not agree citing that they cannot afford to sell at “such low rate,” resulting in shutting down of mutton shops and severe mutton shortage across Kashmir.

While this has created problems for the common people, hundreds of people associated with the industry have been rendered jobless. The crisis has also created a thriving market for black marketers who continue to sell mutton at Rs 600 a kg.

“We are suffering financially because of the shortage of livestock and stand-off. The proposed price of the government is too low,” said Showket Ahmed, a butcher from Narbal whose three shops stand shut for more than two months.

Farooq Ahmad Matto, another Srinagar butcher said that there are areas in the city where mutton is sold in the wee hours but his shop is closed. Many butchers have started selling chickens or beef to customers.

According to Ahmed, he cannot sell at the government rate as he doesn’t make adequate profit. And if he sells meat to customers at a “genuine rate” he fears punishment from the administration.

MUTTON DROUGHT

But according to Muhammad Fazal Buch, a resident of Soura, living without eating mutton is very difficult for a Kashmiri.