Mutton crisis looms over Kashmir

Srinagar, Jul 1: A sword of mutton crisis is looming over the Kashmir Valley as livestock dealers continue their strike on the ninth consecutive day, which is severely affecting livestock supply movement to Jammu and Kashmir and also giving the valley losses in crores.
Mutton dealers said they are no longer dependent on official facilitation and have gone to Punjab, where they are managing the situation independently on the ground.
Kashmir Mutton Dealers Association (KMDA) General Secretary Mehraj-ud-Din said traders were compelled to take charge of the situation themselves after repeated warnings and earlier communications to authorities failed to produce any visible resolution on the ground.
“We are managing the situation on our own now. Despite informing the government in advance, no concrete action was taken,” he said, adding that the disruption has continued for several days without any breakthrough.
“We have been in Punjab for the last five days and are managing everything on our own. We are struggling on our own, doing everything ourselves. No one from the ruling NC government even checked on us after we reached here or asked what we were doing. Nothing was done for us. They are only sending letters and issuing statements,” Mehraj-ud-Din said.
The estimated loss of the mutton industry in the last nine days, calculated based on data shared by mutton dealers and as accessed by KNO, suggests that each truck carries around 160 sheep, while around 60 trucks move daily.
This means around 9,600 sheep per day are affected due to the suspension of movement. With the strike continuing for nine days, a total of around 86,400 sheep have not been transported to the Valley so far.
Taking the average market price of one sheep at Rs 20,000, the total estimated loss comes to nearly Rs 1,728,000,000, which is approximately Rs 172.8 crore (about Rs 173 crore).
The issue comes amid a long-pending dispute over livestock transportation through Punjab, where traders have repeatedly alleged stoppages, delays and additional charges at various points, leading to increased costs and disruption in supply chains feeding Kashmir’s meat market.
The current crisis also follows formal government-level engagement on the matter. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has earlier said he has taken up the issue with his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann, stating in his communication and public remarks that action against Jammu and Kashmir’s mutton dealers in Punjab was “unjustified”.
Traders added that they acknowledge the limited powers of the PDP government, and said that PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, MLA Waheed Para and AAP MLA Mehraj Malik have personally called them.
“The ruling NC government has not even messaged us,” Mehraj-ud-Din said, adding that before leaving Kashmir five days back, they had informed the CM office about their visit.
Moreover, concern is growing in Kashmir over a potential supply crunch, especially with the marriage season approaching.
Repeated attempts to contact CM’s advisor, Nasir Aslam Wani, MLA Zadibal and Minister for Food & Civil Supplies Satish Sharma received no response. (KNO)