Punjab levy row leaves Kashmir's wedding season facing a mutton crunch

Srinagar: The wedding season in Kashmir is losing its sheen amid the mutton crisis -- a problem that traders in the Valley attribute to an "illegal" levy imposed by Punjab on livestock passing through the state.

Weddings in Kashmir are incomplete without Wazwan, a traditional multi-course meat-based meal, acting as the ultimate culinary centrepiece in the celebrations. Around 500 kilogrammes of mutton and 150 kilogrammes of chicken are consumed at an average Kashmiri wedding, while more than a tonne of mutton is used at the lavish ones.

Traders say that the alleged levy has dampened the wedding fervour in the Valley.


"We are facing an acute shortage of mutton due to the problems created by the Punjab government. If this situation continues, I will not be able to supply livestock to my clients in this wedding season," Altaf Ganaie, a mutton dealer from Budgam, told PTI.

Ganaie claimed that if the impasse is not resolved within the next 15 days, he will incur losses to the tune of lakhs of rupees.

"I have made payments to the supplier in Rajasthan, but I have not received any sheep in the past month. It will be difficult to make a living if this situation continues," he added.

All Kashmir Wholesale and Retail Mutton Dealers Association president Khazir Mohammad Regoo likened the four per cent levy imposed by Punjab to 'Goonda Tax'.

He said there was no justification for the Punjab government to impose any tax as the livestock are bought from Rajasthan or Delhi.

Abdul Majeed Bhat, a resident of Hyderpora, is contemplating postponing his son's wedding in view of the mutton crisis.

"My son is scheduled to get married on 25th of July. I am unable to decide whether to go ahead with the wedding feast. We might have to postpone it," Bhat said.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said he has taken up the concerns of mutton dealers with his Punjab counterpart, Bhagwant Mann, and sought his intervention to ensure the smooth movement of livestock vehicles through the neighbouring state.

Abdullah informed Mann that livestock-laden vehicles bound for Jammu & Kashmir were allegedly being stopped by certain contractor groups operating in connection with cattle fairs, and subjected to unauthorised fee collection, despite carrying all valid permits and requisite documentation.

"I have taken up this issue with the Punjab government, seeking immediate intervention to ensure the unhindered movement of livestock transport vehicles through Punjab," Abdullah had said.

"They are just using the highway. There is no justification for unauthorised levies being imposed on the mutton dealers from Jammu and Kashmir," he added.

The chief minister posted on social media a letter he had written to Mann last week, seeking his intervention.

In the letter, he told Mann that such disruptions not only caused avoidable delays, but also financial losses and hardship to transporters, adversely affecting animal welfare.

The chief minister said the matter was being examined by the Kashmir Department of Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs through an internal committee.

"The findings indicate that transporters are reportedly being compelled to make substantial payments per vehicle during transit without any apparent legal sanction. The committee has further observed that livestock movement is exempt from GST and that the continued imposition of such charges is placing an additional burden on the livestock trade, with consequential impact on meat prices and consumers in Jammu & Kashmir," he added.

Abdullah reminded Mann that Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir share longstanding bonds of friendship, cooperation and economic interdependence.

"Any such practices, if found to be occurring, are inconsistent with the spirit of cooperation that has traditionally characterised relations between us and have understandably caused concern among the trading community," he wrote.