Suhail Dar
As the month of Ramdhan began in Kashmir on Wednesday, long queues were witnessed outside mutton shops in urban and rural across the valley. A small fight erupted outside a mutton shop where a woman tried to argue with the butcher that he was selling the mutton at higher rates. “The admin has said 535, why are you selling at 600,” she asked. Upon which the butcher replied, “Go and buy vegetables, this is not charity, if you do not have money, complain to whosoever you want to.”
Though the administration in Jammu Kashmir broke the months-long impasse with the mutton dealers/sellers, throughout the Kashmir valley, mutton is being sold at exorbitant rates. The urban areas are setting the trends for the rural ones, so there is hardly any difference between the rates. Though the administration did put in several checks, however its intent to enforce the rates has been in question in the past too.
Officials at the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) at several places in urban localities charged fines, shut down shops of various mutton sellers selling Mutton at higher prices than the one (535/ Kilogram) recommended by the administration in Jammu Kashmir. A Source within the Department said nobody is keen regarding the implementation of the rates. “The lower rung officials go out click videos/ photographs to appease their higher-ups, who forward the video to their higher-ups, it is a complete chain, nobody is serious, they do not want to help the issue,” the source from the CAPD told The Kashmiriyat.
Mutton in Kashmir valley seems to be becoming the food for the rich as the dealers/ sellers continue to charge high rates at as much as 600 rupees/ kilogram against the Government rates of 535/ kilogram. Meanwhile, people other than in Srinagar have switched to beef and chicken which is also being sold at 350/ KG and 160/ KG in urban areas of the Kashmir valley. “I purchased meat for 600 per kilogram, how many people will call the department (CAPD), they are seasonal in nature, they take up ten dozen issues at a time, without solving even one, after mutton, nowadays they are on the hunt against people selling bricks at higher rates when the mutton is still being sold at 600,” a retired teacher Manzoor Ahmed told The Kashmiriyat.
Manzoor said that with the onset of Ramdhan prices go sky high across the Kashmir valley. “I believe poor governance has been one of the primary reasons to the alienation of Kashmiris, especially it’s young, when the administration can easily put round-the-year market checks in place, it does no, which is sad.” The Kashmiriyat spoke to officials who said that the administration has lodged FIRs against several mutton sellers selling mutton at higher rates, however, we contacted a popular mutton seller in the main town of Anantnag who said, “we are not scared of their FIRs, let them do whatever they can, 600 is our final rate, as we face losses in 535- the rate prescribed by the administration.”
“The open loot continues against Kashmiris, hope the administration wakes up, sooner the better,” Manzoor said.