Leaders of Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha staging a protest in Hassan on Tuesday, demanding the withdrawal of the anti-cattle slaughter law and measures to allow the farmers to sell the cattle in markets.
| Photo Credit: PRAKASH HASSAN
Many farmers who visited the weekly cattle market at Hassan on Tuesday were disappointed, as there were none to buy their cattle. They were seen blaming the policy that restricted slaughter of cattle for no response from the buyers.Farmers had arrived at the market with particular hope, expecting brisk trade ahead of the Bakrid festival. Instead, they found themselves stranded, having spent money on transportation with nothing to show for it. Video clips from the market that went viral on Tuesday captured the mood starkly, farmers sharing their woes with policemen posted at the venue, speaking of mounting debts, the cost of tending to unproductive cattle, school fees to be paid, and land to be cultivated. “We needed the money,” said one farmer in a clip, his frustration palpable. “Now we go back with nothing.”
Representatives of Muslim organisations holding a press conference in Hassan on Tuesday and appealing people not to participate in cattle markets and avoid slaughtering of cattle during Bakrid celebrations.
