Vaishali: The globally renowned, month-long 'Sonepur Mela' at which horses and cattle are sold and purchased began on the bank of river Ganga in Bihar's Saran district.
Known as the largest cattle fair of Asia, it attracts visitors from every continent each year. Cattle from Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and other states arrive in Sonepur.
Every year the fair begins on the day of Kartik Purnima. The event formally begins at dawn with the offering of obeisance to Lord Harihar Nath (Lord Shiva) by a large number of visitors after a holy bath at the confluence of the Ganges and Gandak rivers.
According to reports, this time 2850 horses had been brought to the fair and out of which, 274 horses have been bought and sold so far.
The price of the most expensive mare- Reshma from Mathura has been kept at 11 lakhs and another mare-Karishma is worth five lakhs. According to the owner Aslam, Reshma's price is touted to be one of the costliest mare in the market.
"I had purchased a Punjab breed stallion in February 2019 for two lakhs. The mare is now two years old," said Aslam who has been involved in horse-trading for the past several years.
Aslam states that he had brought a total of 20 horses to the fair, out of which only 6-7 horses are yet to be sold.
Horse breeder, Rohit of Bhojpur whose family has been involved in the business of horses reached the fair with two mares. The price of which has been kept from three and a half lakh to two and a half lakh.
Vinod, who bought a horse worth 61 thousand said that keeping a horse is a matter of pride. At the same time, some people who came to the fair were sad over the fact that the government has banned many animals in the fair due to which they are unable to enjoy.
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