RAWALPINDI  - Illegal mobile markets of cattle set up by sellers of sacrificial animals have turned the city into garbage dump.
Rawalpindi administration has allowed cattle market at specified places but the traders in defiance of these orders have established mobile cattle market at various locations.
These mobile markets have not only polluted the respective areas but also have posed traffic jams. “We are facing difficulties in reaching our offices in time as the herds of sacrificial animals block the road and we have to wait for hours to drive our cars and vehicles ahead, said a group of government employees on Farooq Azam Road.
The areas including Khanna Pull, Shakrial, Faiz Abad, Pir Wadhai, Liaqat Bagh are seen herded with sacrificial animals causing prolonged traffic jams. The citizens demanded immediate action for removing these mobile cattle markets to ensure pollution free environment for them.
INP adds: Contrary to the tall claims of Rawal Town Municipal Administration (RTMA) small illegal cattle markets have been established at various points with the alleged connivance of corrupt officials.
Small cattle markets were established in Bagh Sardaran, Committee Chowk, Tippu Road and Saidpur Road while RTMA officials were looking the other way despite complete ban on the sale and purchase of sacrificial animals in city areas.
The ban remains merely a claim as animal sellers were neither fined nor sacrificial animal confiscated by the concerned authority. It merits mentioning here that the City District Government Rawalpindi has specified five sites for the establishment of sacrificial animal market in the jurisdiction of Potohar Town in order to avoid traffic mess on busy roads and facilitate citizens.