KARACHI, Nov 15: The city government has failed to check the ongoing violation of ban imposed on serving of meals at valima and wedding receptions. The ban was imposed on October 1, 2005 under Section 144.

This violation can be termed one of the main reasons for the increase in both demand and price of chicken during the ongoing marriage season after Eid.

A random visit to various marriage halls and gardens reveals that hosts are serving meals openly even in the presence of police officials at the premises of halls. Some hall owners, however, stick to their stand and do not allow foods at their halls despite pressure from many families.

Sources said 18 deputy district officers (revenue), who have been assigned to the task of checking the violation, were still inactive and remained busy in other government works. They said five DDOs (revenue) were with the provincial relief commissioner and had been deputed at various tent making factories for the procurement of tents for quake victims.

Other DDOs are busy in monitoring the work on the Lyari Express Way. A senior official in the city government, who asked not to be named, said these two works were top priority assignment of the government rather than checking the violation of ban on serving of meals.

An official, who is supposed to supervise the implementation of ban, said he had no knowledge about how many hall owners had been booked for serving meals to the guests. “We will reactivate the DDOs on Wednesday (today) to check the violation,” he added.

The sources said that to avoid any police raid many hosts usually book halls or marriage gardens in the name of birthday or aqiqa ceremonies.

Lower-middle class families want the government to fully implement the ban on serving of meals as it cuts the expenditure by at least 50 per cent.

The demand for chicken had surged phenomenally since the marriage season kicked off, Pakistan Poultry Association’s central chairman Raza Mehmood Khursand told Dawn from Islamabad. He said the consumption of chicken continued to rise and the current price spiral was because of the demand and supply gap.

Mr Khursand said the chicken price remained steady at Rs50-60 per kg during the past six months but it was now going up. He said chicken and beef prices were almost same. “People go for chicken as it is more nutritious and rich in vitamins than beef.”

Despite the fact that the production of birds has surged by 25 per cent against the last year, the prices of chicken are still high, which means that supply does not match the rising demand.

Many market pundits say that wholesalers and poultry people are trying to create an artificial situation to make up for expectant losses that the business may suffer if bird flu scare spreads again.

He said there was virtually no bird flu detected after collecting blood samples of birds from all parts of the country. A high-level meeting of stakeholders and government officials is being held on Wednesday in Islamabad to review the situation.