Rawalpindi:In a historic auctioning of the cattle market for Eid-ul-Adha, the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) awarded the contract for Bhatta Chowk Cattle Market at Rs165.7 million which is 50.7% increase from last year’s bid of Rs109.9 million.
CEO RCB, Syed Ali Irfan Rizvi informed APP that total of 24 bidders participated in the auction, with Muin Khan (Token No. 3) emerging as the highest bidder at Rs165.7 million. He attributes the increased competition to the transparent auction process, better facilities for traders and buyers, and strong rejection of malpractices in the auction procedure.
“The significant rise in the winning bid which is Rs5.58 crore higher than last year proves that trust in our system is growing,” said the CEO. The Bhatta Chowk market is the largest cattle market established each year for the twin cities to facilitate the citizens buying sacrificial animals.
A large number of animals including sheep, goats, cows and camels are supposed to be sold through Bhatt Chowk cattle market. Additional CEO Arshad Khan informed that entry fees at Rs3,000 per large animal (cows, bulls, camels) and Rs2,000 per small animal (goats, sheep) have been set to be received from the sellers. “These measures ensure that only genuine sellers participate, reducing overcrowding and improving the overall experience for buyers,” he said.
CEO Rizvi also assured that RCB would ensure fair pricing to protect buyers from exploitation, adequate security and sanitation for smooth operations, and real-time monitoring to resolve any issues promptly.