Bakrid: Goat prices vary from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1 lakh in Patna market

PATNA: With Eid-ul-Zuha (Bakrid) falling on July 10, the major cattle market at Raja Bazar witnessed a huge rush of customers on Sunday as people were buying goats for the qurbani (sacrificial rituals) on the festival day. More than 1,000 goats have been brought there by the vendors from different parts of Bihar and neighbouring states.
Vendors say the starting price of a goat is Rs10,000-12,000 and it crosses even Rs1 lakh, depending upon the size and breed.Barbari species from Etawah in Uttar Pradesh and Totapari from Jaipur in Rajasthan were in demand because of their beauty. Besides, Jamnapari from Uttar Pradesh, Ajmeri from Ajmer and indigenous breed from Buxar, Ara, Purnia, Kishanganj, Saharsa, Arwal, Jehanabad and Siwan among other districts of Bihar have also been brought there.
Mohd Ziaullah Khan, coordinator of the cattle market, told TOI that three dumbas (fat-tailed sheep) have also come from Rajasthan and each of them is priced about Rs1 lakh. “These animals weigh around 50-55kg. Some people buy goats because of their appearance and mostly go for the Barbari, which looks like a deer and costs up to Rs25,000-30,000. A Totapari weighs around 70-100kg and is priced at Rs50,000. For taste, most people buy indigenous goats, costing in the range of Rs10,000-15,000,” he said.
In view of rain, waterproof tents have been put up in the market and concrete have been laid on the floor. A team has also been deployed with pump to drain out water from the area in case of waterlogging. Feroz Ahmed, a vendor from Uttar Pradesh, said there was not much difference in prices of goats compared to last year. “The response is good this time as more people are coming to the market. About 12-15 goats have been sold. There was a huge rush in the market due to weekend,” he said.
Shamsul from Begusarai said, “For the last two years, we had to bear the loss. This time, we are expecting good business. More stock will come by Tuesday as most people buy sacrificial animals only two days ahead of the festival or on the eve of it.”