Camel trade hits a hump at annual Pushkar Fair

Officials ban traditional camel market at world-famous event citing concerns over the spread of lumpy skin disease

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At 6.30pm last Thursday, Ram Kumar started packing his threadbare bedding, cot, buckets, ropes and a plastic bag full of clothes in his cart. The 42-year-old landless farmer was returning home to Hanumangarh with his 10 unsold camels after camping for days at a temporary helipad in Motisar village, 5km from Pushkar.

Kumar was among the 200odd camel herders who went back dejected and angry from this year’s annual Pushkar Camel Fair in Rajasthan’s Ajmer district after the authorities suddenly banned camels from the venue as a precaution against the spread of lumpy skin disease, citing a controversial order dated October 13.

The weeklong fair that started on November 1 has traditionally been an opportunity for herders to get a fair price (see box), to support their families the rest of the year. “Everything is finished for us,” growled Kumar. “We came to know of the ban only on reaching the mela ground on October 25. The authorities misbehaved with us, and told us to return at once.”