KA RACHI: The veterinary checkpoints set up at four major entry routes of the city are doing a `brisk business` these days as sacrificial animals have started arriving in large numbers in city`s animal markets, it emerged on Monday.

Sources said that these checkpoints had no mechanism to properly inspect animals despite the fact the city faced serious threat from the Congo virus, which had claimed at least four lives in the city and nine in the neighbouring Balochistan.

They said that animal traders were fleeced throughout the year in the name of `health clearance` (at these checkpoints) for which they were forced to pay a fee ranged between Rs50 and Rs200 depending on the type of animal they were bringing in to the city.

A visit to one of the key veterinary checkpoints in the Nooriabad area on Superhighway showed that only one `vet` assisted by two helpers was assigned to inspect thousands of animals arriving in the city on a daily basis.

The makeshift post had no refrigeration facility to keep a few medicines the staff had in the right tem-perature. In addition, the staff had no details in writing about the number of animals examined and administered medicines since morning.

`We don`t have time to write down details, though we do administer medicines if found an animal unhealthy,` said Dr Mohammad Sohail posted at the Nooriabad veterinary checkpoint.

He added that he had been at the facility for a month.

He showed some medicines to be used if an animal was found to have ticks. But, he could not offer any satisfactory reply when asked whether he informed the trader about the possible side effects of the medicine.

The doctor couldn`t produce a single empty used vial when asked about the medicines that, he said, were provided by the contractor charging the health clearance fee.

The contractor, who identified himself as Liaq representing the H.K Enterprise, contradicted his claim and said that the medicines were provided by the government.

Traders who got their animals `examined` at the checkpoint said that they were taxed according to the number of animals they had brought.

`There is no inspection here.

Besides, our animals are already vac-cinated in Multan,` said an animal trader showing the receipts for the health clearance fee.

The checkpoint reportedly functioned under the district municipal corporation-Malir. However, the administrator of the DMC-Malir was not available for comments.

According to Karachi Metropolitan Corporation`s Senior DirectorVeterinary Services Dr Syed Mohammad Farooq, the civic body set up three veterinary checkpoints in the city, which are providing freeof-cost services on the directives of Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad.

`We have nothing to do with the post in Nooriabad. We are operating at the cattle markets at Superhighway, Mowach Goth and Malir,` he said.

Abdul Lateef Qurieshi, general secretary of the livestock traders welfare association, said that the government was fleecing them instead of facilitating business on Eid.

`The other three checkpoints are located on the National Highway, near Hub Chowki and along the Northern Bypass and all have one purpose to extort money from animal traders in the name of health clearance fee,` he said, demanding withdrawal of the fee.