BELAGAVI: Even as thousands of goats and sheep were slaughtered across Vijayapura and Belagavi as a mark of sacrifice on the occasion of Bakrid, the “costliest” goat was up for sale in Indi near Vijayapura. Its owner Rausaheb Devaji quoted a whopping Rs 2.5 lakh, but it escaped the knife.
The goat is lucky to be still alive only because of its huge price tag fixed by its owner for the “lucky” crescent mark on its forehead. A crescent mark is believed to be a lucky sign by many Muslims and therefore the demand for goats and sheep with crescent-shaped patches of fur on their bodies shoots up during Eid Al-Adha, also known as Bakrid.
Usually, an average full-grown goat or sheep is sold at Rs 10 ,000-15,000 in the markets ahead of Bakrid. Some goats with extraordinary size will fetch around Rs 20,000 to their owners in some of the markets in the state. Shoppers were stunned at Indi market in Vijayapura district when they found that the goat with a crescent-shaped mark on its forehead was tagged at Rs 2.5 lakh. Although it attracted a huge number of customers in the market, none was ready to shell out so much on it even as one of the customers offered Rs 1.25 lakh.
A gram panchayat member from B K Naad village of Indi taluk said he would not sell the goat for anything less than Rs 2.5 lakh. When some customers insisted him on selling it for Rs 1.25 lakh, Devaji said he would like to keep the ‘lucky’ goat with him rather than sell it for a ‘small’ price of Rs 1.25 lakh.
However, he was optimistic that his goat would fetch him the tagged amount but unfortunately, for him, there were no takers for the animal this Bakrid only for its exorbitant cost. Devaji was confident of getting a good price for his goat after he learnt that many similar goats had fetched good money in various parts of the country.