TIRUCHY: The set of guidelines issued by the ECI ahead of election is likely to affect the sales of cattle in Mannapparai cattle market. Cattle from different parts of the Central districts and across states would be sold in the weekly market; a turnover of over Rs 1 crore would be easily achieved in a week. The lockdown induced by Covid-19 stalled the business at the bustling market and exchange of cattle worth `23-30 crore, according to market in-charge. While traders and farmers were recovering from the loss, yet another blow came in the form of Model Code of Conduct (MCC). As per the guidelines, a person can only carry 50,000 in cash with documents. Cattle rearers worry that the sales involves a lot of cash exchange without documents and they would get into trouble.
Arputharaja, a cattle rearer, said, "Usually, we do not maintain documents while selling cattle. Farmers and traders would get caught by the flying squad while crossing district borders. Though we would be able to explain and get past checkpoints, there are possibilities that our money might be seized. It's an unnecessary hurdle we have to face. Hence, we have decided to postpone the cattle purchase after election."
Chinnu Gounder, in-charge of market, said, "The market was opened earlier this year, but still the arrival of cattle was moderate. Only after the beginning of Jallikattu season, the market returned to its glory. Before it could sustain, yet another hurdled came in the form of MCC."
He pointed out that the arrival of buyers from other parts of the district would drop by 50 per cent and a similar situation would be faced by beef exporting companies.