The cattle trade at the weekly shandy at Manapparai was dull on Tuesday.
The shandy caters to the needs of those who want to sell or purchase goats, cows and bullocks. Normally 5,000 cattle are brought from Tiruchi, Dindigul, Pudukottai, Madurai and nearby districts every week. Farmers and cattle-owners used to assemble at the shandy by Tuesday evening to avoid congestion at the shandy which is scheduled for Wednesdays.
But on Tuesday, the arrival of cattle was far below normal. Just 1,500 cattle were brought. There was not many goats too.
G. Krishnan, a farmer of Pudukottai district, said he had come to buy a pair of bullocks but was disappointed to find that they were not up to his expectation. “The pair should be of equal height with proper growth. Though I have been searching for right bullocks for the past two hours, I could not locate a pair,” he said.
R. Venkatesan of Rapposal in Pudukottai district said that the non-availability of fodder was one of the main reasons forcing farmers to sell their cattle.
Again, it is the same reason for the absence of takers. He said that hay was being sold for ₹60,000 a truck load. But, there was serious short supply of hay and was not readily available even at this high price, he said.
