Kashmiris will finally indulge in mutton after 4-month hiatus over rates

In November last year, the administration had fixed the retail price of mutton at Rs 480 per kilogram.

Kashmir’s mutton crisis is finally over after four months. The mutton dealers were caught in a deadlock with the government over rates. On Wednesday, there was a resolution with the administration fixing the retail price of mutton at Rs 535 per kg.“We had a discussion with the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir. Government is not ready to fix Rs 550 per kg rate for mutton and after discussions, the new rate has been fixed to be Rs 535 per kg,” said a member of the mutton dealers association.In November last year, the administration had fixed the retail price of mutton at Rs 480 per kilogram. This had started a deadlock with dealers demanding a review in the pricing. The mutton dealers were selling meat at about Rs 120 higher than this in the market.The strike called by the mutton dealers has had the common people suffering in Kashmir. “It is good that the crisis is over. The common man was suffering”, said Mushtaq Ahmad, a local resident in Srinagar.According to the government, it was a difficult task to resolve this crisis since the mutton dealers were adamant to not agree with the earlier rates. “Hectic negotiations with the dealers took place and we have finally fixed the rate of mutton at Rs 535 per kg in Kashmir. The new rates will come into effect immediately,” said a food and civil supplies official.Mutton is a highly sought-after commodity in Kashmir with a consumption of around 1,000 lakh kg/year. As per the estimates, the daily consumption of meat in Kashmir is around worth Rs 5 crore. The mutton dealers believe that in the last four months of deadlock, the industry has suffered a loss of close to Rs 800 crore. Also read: There will be no shortage of food or civil supplies in state: J&K administration Also read: Indian economy in corona time: Agriculture only bright spot