15,000 goats to be sacrificed

CHANDIGARH: After Hindu Navratras, it is now time for Muslim residents to celebrate Eid-Ul-Adha, commonly known as Bakr Eid or Bakrid, on Wednesday. This year, the tricity will witness the sacrifice of nearly 15,000 goats on the occasion of Bakr Eid. With little or no bargaining, the prices of goats can go up to thousands. However, this year, the price of a goat went up to as high as '2 lakhs."'20,000 is a common price for a goat in the tricity, and this year, there are talks that the prices have gone as high as a lakh," said Shehzad Alam, of Sector 7. "Those goats which were available for '10,000 last year are priced at '15,000 to '18,000 this time," he added.
In tricity, one gets goats mainly from Burail, Manimajra, Mohali, and Sector 26, Chandigarh. Many people even get them from Punjab. Before buying the animal, one makes sure it is not injured or suffering from any illness. Once bought, it becomes a part of the family, and the owner is expected to love him as dearly as his own son. "The animal which is to be sacrificed is just like a son to the owner, and he needs to take care of its likes and dislikes while feeding him, as only then the sacrifice is accepted by Allah. However, this ritual of sacrifice is not a compulsion for all Muslims. Only the ones who own 60gms of gold or property, equal to or more than the market price of 60gms gold are eligible to sacrifice, as they are first supposed to make a living for themselves," said Ashwaq Kamil, a resident of Manimajra.
Starting on Wednesday morning, with the reading of "namaz" at different masjids in the tricity, the "kurbani" (ritual of sacrifice) will go on until twilight on Friday. "Reading "namaz" is the most important part of the festival. It is only after offering prayers does one go back to his house and sacrifices the animal. Before this ritual, one eats something sweet. Nearly 15,000 goats will be sacrificed in the tricity this year," said Mohammad Ajmal Khan, maulavi of Jama Masjid in Sector 20, Chandigarh. "The sacrifice is compulsory for only those who are financially well settled and not for all," he added.
The prices depend upon several factors like colour, shape, size, breed etc. "If the goat or the animal for sacrifice is most suitable and carries a natural religious symbol like Eid moon, a star, or 786 number, or is named after a film star, then the price may even reach lakhs of rupees, as the number of buyers for it goes up. But this happens mostly in bigger cities like Delhi. Here in the city, the most suitable goats are those who are purely black in colour and do not have any deformity and have a shining skin. Bargaining is not allowed," said Mohammad Atif, a resident of Sector 41, Chandigarh.