BY MOHAMMAD SHOEB
DOHA: Chaos continued at the livestock market in Abu Hamour on the second day of Eid Al Adha as well as large numbers of people thronged the place in the hope of getting a sheep or goat slaughtered for sacrifice.
Serpentine queues were seen at the market with many people complaining that they had been braving the heat and humidity in the open ground for hours on end and yet with no signs that their turn would come soon.
People were angry and blamed poor management and inadequate facilities for their suffering. While the country’s population has been exploding, abattoir facilities remain unchanged. “The authorities should at least make special arrangements for slaughter on occasions like Eid Al Adha, which is a festival of sacrifice,” said a man.
Many of those standing in the long queues for coupons to get subsidised Australian sheep for sacrifice had come for the second day as they failed to get one on the first day of Eid due to heavy rush.
According to some staff at the livestock market, the existing facilities and abattoir have the maximum capacity to handle (sacrifice) about 2,000 animals daily from individual customers.
“There is no proper system out here. I came yesterday also and stood in the sun for an hour. I was sweating so badly that I found it increasingly difficult to continue as flies and foul smell keep coming from all around. After seeing the number of people waiting for coupons ahead of me, I realised that my turn will not come so went back home,” said Hafiz Mohammed.
Mohammed, who is here for more than 15 years, said: “Earlier things were not that difficult. But the situation over the last couple of years has become unbearable. “Is it possible to wait for four to five hours just to get an animal sacrificed in this hot summer, where even many animals are dying due to the harsh conditions,” he said looking visibly upset.
He said that the population of the country has increased by many fold over the last 10 years, while the facilities have remained unchanged. There should be at least 50 facilities across the country so that everybody is ensured the service as sacrifice is to be done within four days during Eid Al Adha.
The coupon issuing counters at the market open at about 6am but people could be seen flocking in much in advance before the dawn prayer to ensure they do not have to return empty handed.
“I tried to come early thinking that I will be among the first to stand in the queue, but after reaching here I found the main gate closed and nearly 200 people are already waiting outside,” said a customer who had come to buy an Australian sheep that were being sold at QR360 per head.
By the time a security staff came to open the gate at around 5am, the crowd had swelled to several hundreds. People tried to enter the facility all at a time pushing each other creating a stampede like situation. Some burqa-clad women could also be seen turning up so early, but they preferred to stand at a safer distance fearing the crowd.
“If they keep the main gate open and put some automatic numbering machine, or a token system such situations can be easily avoided,” said another fuming customer at the market.
Meanwhile, Abdur Rahman Sari Al Kaabi, a senior official of Qatar Company for Meat and Livestock Trading (Widam) admitted that coupons for Australian sheep ran out, while the stocks for Syrian and Jordanian sheep are available.
“The company had announced that it had 4,000 Syrian sheep for Eid Al Adha. A total of 1,800 coupons were issued on the first day and 2,200 on the second day of the festival (yesterday),” Al Kaabi was quoted as saying by Al Sharq yesterday. He said Widam supplied the number of animals it had promised. “It received about 45,000 Australian sheep on September 26. Coupons are being issued from 5am to 8pm, and we have a target of sacrificing up to 4,000 animals. However, there is a quota of 2,000 heads for charitable organisations for the third and fourth day of Eid.” The Peninsula
