Traders cash in on high demand for sheep ahead of Dasara festival in north coastal Andhra Pradesh

As Dasara nears, traders in north coastal Andhra Pradesh capitalize on high demand for sheep for traditional sacrifices.

As the Dasara festival approaches (October 12), traders and sellers have started cashing in on the demand for sheep, as the animal is widely used for traditional sacrifice to Goddess Durga on Dasara in north coastal Andhra Pradesh by motor vehicle owners among others.

Sheep buyers flocked the village markets (shandies) at Tallapalem in Kasimkota mandal of Anakapalli district on Monday. Similar weekly shandy, exclusively for sale of sheep, will be held at Timaram village of Devarapalli mandal of Anakapalli district on Friday (October 11). As the next day is Dasara, a heavy rush of buyers is expected on that day.

A.P. State Sheep and Goat Breeders Welfare Association president Ganta Sriram said that demand for sheep is high during the Dasara season across the State. As there are no sheep farms in urban areas like Visakhapatnam, vendors and traders procure the animals from Nellore, Guntur, Prakasam, Kadapa and other parts of Odisha and Chhattisgarh to meet the demand of animals in north coastal A.P.

On normal days, each animal is sold at ₹8,000 to ₹10,000. The price ranges between ₹30,000 and ₹40,000 per animal, depending on the demand and size of the animal during this festival season, he added.

“People prefer sheep to goats for Dasara offerings. The special sheep shandy (weekly market) at Timaram in Devarapalli mandal is expected to witness a huge rush as it falls ahead of Dasara festival. On Monday, there was a huge rush of the sheep buyers at Tallapalem which is popular for sheep and goat shandy across the north coastal A.P.,” Mr. Sriram said.

There are about three lakh trucks in the State. The owners of one-sixth of them celebrate the Dasara festival during this season with sacrifice of an animal as an offering to the deity. This apart, the owners of auto-rickshaws, cabs, taxis, small-scale industrial units and businessmen also celebrate Dasara as Ayudha Puja.

Visakhapatnam District Animal Husbandry Department Joint Director D. Ramakrishna said that usually sheep gain weight seasonally. Heavy grazing in the fields due to rains during the rainy season may lead to weight gain, and they could see weight loss in odd seasons like winter or summer. Besides, farmers prefer to sell only rams rather than females most of the time, he added.