J&K Govt forms panel to resolve livestock transit row with Punjab

SRINAGAR — The Jammu and Kashmir Government has constituted a three-member team of senior officers to engage with the Government of Punjab over the smooth transit of livestock and to address allegations of overcharging by Punjab authorities on livestock-laden vehicles.

According to Government Order, as per the news agency KNT, the Department of Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs has formally sanctioned the visit of the team to Punjab for dialogue with the concerned officials. The move comes in response to long-standing complaints by livestock traders over alleged extortion and unnecessary delays at interstate checkpoints, particularly affecting trucks bound for Jammu and Kashmir.

The designated officers in the committee include Manoj Prabhaker, Deputy Controller, Legal Metrology Department, J&K; Muhammad Rafeeq Bhat, JKAS, Deputy Director, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department, Kashmir and Sham Lal Abrol, JKAS, Deputy Director, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department, Jammu.

As per the government directive, the team is expected to hold talks with the relevant departments of the Punjab Government for an amicable resolution to the issue and to prevent future overcharging incidents. They are also directed to submit a detailed report to the Administrative Department after their visit, based on which the next course of action will be decided.

However, the move has not gone down well with stakeholders. When contacted, Mutton Dealers Association General Secretary Mehrajuddin Ganai told KNT that the order "seems to be a joke" as it lacks clarity on crucial aspects such as the date of the team’s visit, the deadline for report submission, or when any tangible decision will be taken to address the extortion issue.

He further criticized the government for forming the committee without consulting or informing the mutton dealers’ fraternity. "We are already in Punjab in our personal capacity and have met several legislators and ministers, informing them about the extortion at Shambu Border and Madhavpore. The job that the government is supposed to do is being done by private individuals," Ganai lamented.

Kashmir mutton dealers meet MP Rahullah Mehdi in Delhi

Meanwhile, a delegation of mutton dealers from Kashmir Valley met Member of Parliament Aga Syed Rahullah Mehdi in New Delhi to voice serious concerns over alleged extortion and harassment of livestock transporters at key border points in Punjab. The dealers sought urgent intervention to end what they describe as systematic exploitation of truckers ferrying sheep and goats to the Valley.

Led by Mutton Dealers Association General Secretary Mehrajuddin Ganaie, the delegation highlighted the difficulties faced by dealers due to illegal demands for money at Shambu Border and Madhavpur in Punjab. Ganaie informed the MP that the extortion has not only disrupted the flow of livestock into Kashmir but also severely impacted their livelihood.

“Truckers are being stopped, delayed, and coerced into paying large sums of money at these checkpoints. This is not just unfair, it’s strangling the supply chain and raising the cost of mutton in Kashmir,” Ganaie told the MP.

The dealers expressed frustration over the lack of concrete action despite repeated appeals to the concerned authorities, forcing them to escalate the matter to the national level.

MP Aga Syed Rahullah Mehdi gave the delegation a patient hearing and assured them that the matter would be pursued both at the administrative and legislative levels. “I will take up this issue with the Punjab Government and also raise it with my fellow parliamentarians,” he said, stressing that such extortion practices were unacceptable and must be dealt with firmly.

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