Sheep procured from other states to meet demand for Dasara in AP
The animals sacrificed as prayer offerings to Goddess Durga are brought from Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh
Visakhapatnam: With the Dasara festival approaching, traders and vendors have started procuring sheep from neighbouring states to meet the demand for the animal, which is traditionally sacrificed by the owners of motor vehicles as offerings to the Goddess Durga.
A mega-market will be held exclusively on Monday for the sheep and goat purchasers at Tallapalem in Kasimkota mandal of this district. Nellore district has the state’s largest market for animals.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, the AP state sheep and goat breeders welfare association president Ganta Sriram said nearly two lakh sheep would be sacrificed by the motor vehicle owners across the state during this Dasara. Many of them could not celebrate the event last year due to the Covid19.
“Nearly 50 per cent of the sheep will be brought from Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu, the bordering states, to meet the demand for the animal. People prefer sheep rather than goats for offerings on Dasara,” Sriram said.
In normal days, each animal is sold at prices ranging from Rs 8000 and Rs 10000. But, during this festival season, the maximum price may go up to Rs 30,000 depending on the demand and the breed, Sriram said.
The state has nearly three lakh lorries. One-sixth of them would celebrate Dasara festival this season to also make up for last year’s inaction, said Eswara Rao, general secretary of the AP lorry owners’ association.
Traditionally, the owners of auto-rickshaws, cabs, taxies, small-scale industrial units and businessmen celebrate Dasara in a grand manner.
On the other hand, Adinarayana, president of the broiler chicken traders association here said, “The demand for the Nattu Kodi is generally high during the Dasara festival. Since many cannot afford to buy it due to its high price, they take broiler chicken for the prayer offerings. Our business and the festival spirit depend on the climatic conditions. Rumours are doing rounds that there would be a storm in the Bay of Bengal.”