"The response from residents has been huge. Many brought their goats for a check-up and found that they were unwell. We are providing free check-up and medicines at a nominal cost. This year, the condition at Deonar slaughter house were very bad and that is one of the reasons for the goats being sick," Pathan said.
With many goats falling sick ahead of Bakri Eid, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has organised health camps for these animals. Led by Byculla legislator Waris Pathan, the AIMIM has set up several such health camps in the area.
"The response from residents has been huge. Many brought their goats for a check-up and found that they were unwell. We are providing free check-up and medicines at a nominal cost. This year, the condition at Deonar slaughter house were very bad and that is one of the reasons for the goats being sick," Pathan said.
Veterinary doctors are part of the health camps and have checked over 100 goats since Tuesday.
The three-day Bakri Eid, a festival involving sacrifice of animals, begins on September 25. Community leaders said that since this was the first Bakri Eid after the stringent Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act extended the ban on slaughter of cows to bulls and bullocks, most Muslims had bought goats for the festival. Experts said that though the number of goats in the market has increased, sales are down due to prohibitive prices as well as scant rain, which makes animals fall ill.
"We had asked the BMC to improve facilities at the slaughter house but they failed. I went there and found that the conditions were unhygienic. We got many complaints about sick goats, so we decided to set up the camps," Pathan added.
Officials from the abattoir said that of the 2 lakh goats that reached there till Wednesday, around 1.4 lakh were sold till Thursday.
"We treated many goats. Some of them were ill and we prescribed medicine," said Dr Kundan Tambe, who took part in the health camp.
According to rituals, large animals such as bullocks and buffaloes bought for sacrifice are shared by several people but goats are used for individual sacrifice. Community observers have said that large animals provided relief to those who could not afford goats as people could pool in money to buy a bull or a bullock. Buffaloes cost around Rs15,000 each while a goat costs around Rs20,000.
Residents welcomed the health camps. "We could get the goats treated in time. We can't sacrifice sick or deformed goats. If the goats fell sick, the Rs20,000 I spent would have gone waste. Such health camps must be organised every year," said Sharique Najinvi, a local resident.
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