G20 fallout: Cattle buyers from Kashmir stuck in Punjab, apprehensive of possible losses

Srinagar, May 17: Cattle buyers from Kashmir Valley are stuck in Punjab with their livestock after the government in Jammu and Kashmir banned the entry of cattle-laden trucks to the erstwhile state till the culmination of the G20 event.
Scores of people from the Valley are doing cattle business legally outside Jammu and Kashmir. Most of these cattle traders import cattle from India’s northern state of Punjab and sell them off in Kashmir. These cattle traders usually buy dairy cows which generally have the ability to produce large quantities of milk.
A group of cattle traders from North Kashmir told the news agency Kashmir News Trust over the phone from Gurdaspur Punjab that they are stuck in Punjab after buying dairy cows worth Rs 25 lakh.
“First we were allowed to buy cows and now the Deputy Commissioner Kathua has imposed a ban on the movement of cattle-laden trucks till the culmination of G20 event. There is still a lot of time for that event and yet we have been stopped,” said Ishfaq Ahmed who hails from Shadipora Bandipora.
Another cattle trader Inayat Ahmed from Hanjiveera Pattan said that they will suffer losses if not allowed to enter Kashmir. “These cows will die and we don’t know what to do now,” he said and appealed to authorities to save them from incurring losses. Deputy Commissioner Kathua was not available for comment. [KNT]