This Bakrid, some Hyderabadis are outsourcing qurbani

Families now prefer ‘Qurbani Service’, where agencies are handed over the task of buying goats or sheep from the local market, transporting it to the house, feeding it for a few days and later sacrificing the animal on Bakrid

Hyderabad: With apartment complexes replacing independent houses and joint families adopting the nuclear family culture, the Eid ul Adha festivities in Hyderabad are witnessing a social change.

Contrary to the regular practice of buying goats or sheep from the local market, transporting it to the house, feeding it for a few days and later sacrificing the animal on Bakrid, families now prefer to hand over the task to agencies that provide ‘Qurbani Service’.

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“The service is ideal for families staying in apartment buildings as there is literally no space to keep sheep and make arrangements for sacrifice. Several families stay in small spaces, so it is difficult unless the activity is planned properly by building associations,” says Syed Mubasheer, a resident of Tolichowki.

The Qurbani Service is basically a platform where the service providers facilitate one to select a sheep or goat for sacrifice and, after collecting the amount on any of the three days of Eid ul Adha, they sacrifice the animal at some far-off place or function hall and deliver the meat to customers.

“The meat is delivered in neatly packed boxes at the doorstep and the families can go ahead with the process of distribution according to their own convenience,” says Zeeshan Ahmed, who started Qurbani Service a couple of years ago.

A shortage of butchers or finding one at the right time is also a major challenge that is forcing people to opt to for the Qurbani Service providers. “Some people pay 50 per cent of the amount as advance to the butcher and book their services weeks ahead of the festival. Moreover, local butchers don’t come to houses where only one or two sheep are sacrificed. Instead, they are keener to visit families who need more than five sheep sacrificed as the earnings are higher,” Mubeen Ahmed, another service provider, says.