Govt considers online sacrificial animal sales.

Byline: Khalid Hasnain

LAHORE -- The Punjab government is considering a proposal to allow online sale/purchase of sacrificial animals, impose ban on home slaughter, curtail gathering in major cattle markets and other measures to avert spread of coronavirus.

The government also plans to develop certain apps and websites of Lahore Division Cattle Market Management Company (LDCMMC) and other divisional companies in association with the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB), Dawn has learnt.'

In a recent meeting with the Lahore Commissioner, who heads the LDCMMC's board of directors (BOD), various proposals were discussed. 'The participants were of the view that sacrificial animal markets may emerge as Covid-19 hot spots causing spread of infection,' an official source told Dawn on Sunday.

Lahore hosts a major sale point in Shahpur Kanjran which attracts a large number of animal farmers and traders from Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan. This is also considered to be a major source of animal supply to Khyber Pakhtunkhawa and Kabul (Afghanistan).

Slaughter at designated points

Besides this, Lahore also hosts other sale points of sacrificial animals at Saggian, LDA Avenue-1, Punjab Society (near Wapda Town), DHA/Cantt and Harbanspura where animal sales remain at peak till Eid. Cattle markets for sacrificial animals are also organised each year at Faisalabad, Gujaranwala, Rawalpindi, Multan, Sahiwal, Sargodha, Bahawalpur, DG Khan and other cities under respective cattle market management companies and district administrations.

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