KARACHI, Jan 20: A plethora of religious, semi-religious and social service organisations have sprung up virtually in every neighbourhood of the city that offers to carry out the religious obligation of animal sacrifice on behalf of the believers at relatively much less price than the market rate of goats and cows.

They also relieve you of all the tensions involved in purchase of animals, feeding and taking care and finally to engage a butcher for sacrifice. At least one such organisation, a well known and also reputed for offering Haj and Umrah packages at affordable cost and relatively a comfortable journey, is offering home delivery service of the meat of the sacrificed animal this year.

"Next year you may see an on line service for animal sacrifice," remarked a young man working as a volunteer for a local mosque committee. An average size goat of 12 to 15 kg is being sold at Rs10,000 to Rs12,000 while a good animal is being priced at Rs16,000.

Average size cows are being sold at Rs25,000 to Rs30,000 and good animal is being offered at Rs50,000. As is the case every year, the prices of cows and goats are up this Eid also.

Prices of wheat and petrol have gone and so is the case with the demand of the police and those who pretend to offer you protection from others. Animal dealers from Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan have thronged the makeshift cattle market at Zero point on Super highway spread over 500 acres.

Animal dealers are relatively more comfortable and relaxed this year because of security steps taken by the authorities. But these security measures coupled with rising cost of petrol and wheat have pushed up the prices of the animals.

But with all these social service organizations in your neighbourhood you can carry out your religious obligations by paying Rs3,200 for one-seventh share in a cow and Rs2,400 to Rs2,600 for a goat and spare yourself of all the troubles of taking up a tedious journey to cattle market to Zero point on Super Highway and then entering into a tough bargain with cattle dealer that may take at least three to four hours and finally transporting back the animal or animals to home.

Put up a shelter for animals, arrange fodder and water and taking care of animals for next two or three days and the final and most torturous part is to engage a butcher to carry out sacrifice.

All these religious, semi-religious and social organisations thrive on the generous donations, virtually from all segments of the society. They include the neo rich businessmen who reaped hefty profits from the open market policies of the present military-civilian set up in last five years.

They also include the well paid and relatively prosperous middle class office workers and business executives of the big Pakistani companies and multinationals.

These organisations have obtained fund resources and have also acquired technology skills and corporate efficiency from their patrons and now have developed enough potential to explore new areas of services.

Animals sacrifice package is no burden on these social organisations. These organisations have rich patrons and all the tannery owners and leather merchants are in fold of one or the other such organisations.

They offer a secured market for the hides and skins of the sacrificed animals which meets substantially the cost involved. Animals are bought in herds-hundreds and even thousands-.

Therefore, the cost per animal and transport charges up to Karachi either from Sindh or Punjab is relatively less than being incurred by an individual animal dealer. In fact the entire management and marketing is done on modern corporate lines which makes the operations self-regulatory and quick in delivery.

But then there have been pitfalls. There have been murders, abductions, in fights among the key office holders and police arrests. Reports of such events and happenings are suppressed. One or two events of murders have been reported in the press but never followed up to find out the causes.