Impending voting in Kerala, Karnataka impacts business at cattle shandy in Erode

Decline in cattle sales at Karungalpalayam shandy due to traders' absence for Lok Sabha elections, affecting business.

The weekly cattle shandy at Karungalpalayam witnessed a decline in sales due the absence of traders from States where voting is bound to take place for the Lok Sabha elections on Friday.

Usually, traders from Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana purchase cattle at the market and transport it to their respective states. But, due to the Lok Sabha elections scheduled on Friday in Kerala and Karnataka, traders from these two states did not turn up at the shandy while a few traders from Andhra Pradesh and other states turned up. As a result, the sandy saw sales of less than 50%.

After the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) was brought into effect, farmers said, they were unable to carry cash of more than ₹50,000 without valid documents. On March 20, election officials seized cash from traders at the entrance of the shandy forcing them to stage a protest at the Collectorate. “Business was affected in the last one month due to the restrictions,” said a farmer.

Farmers have been demanding a relaxation of the cap on cash as they were unable to produce documents for the cattle sold in the shandy. Traders carrying cash from other districts and states were also facing issues due to the norms, resulting in a drop in sales at the shandy.

Of the 900 cattle brought for sale, less than 500 were sold out at the shandy here. Farmers and traders said the situation will return to normal only after the MCC is withdrawn after counting of votes on June 4.