After bird flu, note ban cripples Ghazipur Mandi

New Delhi: It was a double trouble situation at Ghazipur Mandi in East Delhi on Friday, which is home to one of Asia’s largest livestock market. Completely marred by the government’s move of scrapping the old currency, the market, which was earlier hit by the supposedly avian bird flu scare, has now been doomed. While the commission agents of fish, poultry, and egg market were seen struggling in storing the already transported live food stock with no suppliers and beneficiaries coming forward to buy it, the labourers were seen rendered jobless and cashless with the business hitting an all time low over the last 20 years.

The crippling effect of the currency demonetisation not only broke the back of the livestock food market, but has left many labourers jobless. The business saw a dip of 80 per cent in the last few days leaving thousands of wholesale traders and suppliers sleepless overnight.

“The poultry business has been severely hit by the recent move of the government. There are only few takers now. Usually, where the daily average of the inflow of trucks carrying live stock used to be around 120-140 trucks a day, on Friday, we managed to get about 70-80 trucks only. Business has dipped invariably with the sale touching an all time low,” pointed Zameel Ahmed, a wholesale poultry agent.  

He further added, “The situation is grim as chicken livestock is not being sold and this is adversely affecting the hen. Once they are out of the poultry farms, on a daily basis they tend to reduce around 100 grams of weight. Now, with this move of the government, the stock is being piled-up with no takers.”    

If the poultry and chicken commission dealers and agents are to be believed, the livestock is bought by wholesalers from poultry farms from neighbouring states like Haryana and Punjab.

The scene at the fish market was no different from the poultry and chicken market. The commission agents at the market allege that there has been a considerable dip in business leaving people in a lurch.

With no cash liquidity in the market, Aalam, another commission agent of the fish market, believes that the market will take many months to get back to its usual business. “Transport has been hit. There is an all time decrease in the sale and no money in hand to give to the labourers. It is probably one of the worst times for us.” According to a functionary officer, the revenue has seen a new low in the past many years. “With most of the transactions being made by cash, the suppliers and wholesale dealers are hit by this move.”