Srinagar: The government’s fixing of the rate of mutton at Rs 480 a kg has so outraged mutton traders in Kashmir that they have come together and held a joint presser in Srinagar to lambast the government for this measly move.
The All Kashmir Mutton Wholesale & Retail Association, the All Kashmir Butchers Association, and the Chinar Sheep Welfare Association together addressed reporters at the Kashmir Press Club here on Thursday. They said that the rate which the government has fixed has “shocked” them.
Mehraj Din Ganie, General Secretary of the All Kashmir Mutton Wholesalers and Retail Association, said that traders had submitted proposed mutton rates to the concerned department but the administration ignored them.
“We were never part of this decision. There are nearly twenty-thousand families which are directly dependent on this business in Kashmir,” Ganie said.
“In the year 2016 the rates of mutton were fixed by the administration at Rs 400. After more than 5 years the administration has given an increment of only Rs 80,” he said.
He said that as per the standard guidelines, the increment should have been 10 to 15 percent after every year.
The traders’ associations requested the Lieutenant Governor to intervene in this matter.

ARIF RASHID