Mutton consumption plummets to Rs 50 lakh from Rs 5 crore a day

As Kashmir remained under siege for 48th straight day with restrictions and lockdown in place, the demand for mutton in the summer capital of the state here has witnessed drastic decline.
In normal situations, in July and August, as per rough estimates around 10,000 marriages are solemnized in Kashmir. A huge quantity of meat is consumed by the wedding functions.

However, this year, the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander, Burhan Wani, on July 8, which led to protests and civilians killings, resulted in massive cancellation of marriage functions.
As per the mutton dealers, on an average, 50 to 60 truckloads of livestock were daily imported from outside mandis to Kashmir before the ongoing mass uprising. A truckload of livestock costs around Rs 9 lakh which puts the total cost of mutton consumption at around Rs 4.5 to 5.4 crore a day.
However, as per Kashmir Wholesale Mutton Dealers’ Association, the demand of mutton has reduced drastically. “Currently, only 5 to 6 trucks laden with livestock are procured in Kashmir, which puts the cost of mutton consumption at around Rs 50 lakh which is way below the average consumption,” said president All Kashmir Wholesale Mutton Dealers Association, Mehraj ud Din.

“Although, Kashmiris love to eat mutton, this time there is hardly any demand due to various factors including continuous restrictions coupled with shutdown.
“Further, around 90 per cent marriage functions were cancelled with people preferring to solemnize marriages with simplicity without serving Kashmiri Wazwan,” he said.
The impact of unrest is not only felt by the local dealers, outside mandis from where the mutton is supplied to Kashmir are also facing the brunt. “Our business is in depression due to unrest in Kashmir. Such a situation has hardly happened in the past,” Fakir Muhammad, a Delhi-based mutton supplier said.
“Kashmir is a huge mutton market in entire India. If it remains closed it affects traders in other parts of the country as well,” he said, adding that he alone used to supply around 5 truckloads a day to Kashmir which has now come down to one or sometimes even not that one.

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