LAHORE, Dec 29: Sacrificial animal traders in Saddar Bazaar area are crying out against extortionists who, they say, have virtually made them hostage to fleece them Shahzad Majeed, Asghar Ali and others complained while talking to this reporter that besides an official fee, they were made to pay for each bull/cow to several unscrupulous elements who extort money from them on their way to the city limits. They claimed that each animal cost them an additional expenditure of Rs2,500.

They said the official fee for each animal had been fixed at Rs50, but the contractor was charging a double fee. Besides, an extra sum of Rs150 was also being charged from the traders for each truck without any justification.

The traders further alleged that the contractor had provided them with no facility. Even the water was a scarce commodity here which they had to make available for their animals. In addition, they paid Rs500 per night to nearby shopkeepers for getting electricity connections.

They also have to bear the expenditure for tents to save their animals from the vagaries of weather. They alleged that the men of a notorious extortionists’ gang, operating throughout the city, were now demanding Rs4,000 from each trader for erecting tents they had arranged from their own resources.

Contractor Chaudhry Muhammad Husain claimed that he had to share the remaining amount with parking lot contractor Elahi Bakhsh as the traders were not ready to shift their animals to an officially designated place. Although the market is flooded with sacrificial animals, the sale has not picked up.