Beef prices in Ahmedabad have dropped from an average of Rs 40 per kg a month ago to an average of Rs 28 per kg now which, market sources say, is a result of increased influx of cattle over the past one month to cattle markets where butchers make purchases.

``The last such drop in prices was during the drought in 1987,'' says Capt. Dilip Mahajan, superintendent of the municipal slaughter house in Jamalpur.

In fact, State Government officials have started preparing for an impending drought, though one has not been declared officially. ``We have not declared a drought. It is only around October 20 when the South West monsoon retreats that adrought is declared,'' said a senior government official, requesting anonymity.

``We have directed collectors in the State to prepare drought master plans for their respective districts,'' the official admitted. ``The matter will probably come up for discussion at the forthcoming Cabinet meeting,'' he added. The government announced on Sunday that it had a stock of two crore kgs of grass and was supplying it to various cattle camps in the State. Decisions have also been taken to buy fodder from Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, sources said.

Meanwhile, meat shops are displaying colourful banners on their shops. ``Meat -- ek kilo na rupia vees''(beef Rs 20 a kg) said a banner outside a meat shop in Saraspur. And there is no quality check because most of the slaughter is done illegally. Observers blame faulty government policies. Legally, only 60 bullocks can be slaughtered in a year, according to an ordinance issued in 1989.

The number of buffaloes that can be slaughtered in a week is 212. Thefigure is based on the 1951 cattle census. ``Now equate this with the 6.5 lakh non-vegetarian population in the city, according to the 1991 census, even though not all are beef consumers,'' said an Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation official.

Water scarcity has forced cattle influx mainly from Saurashtra. In the last week, police took into custody 380 calves in Ahmedabad, sources say, and these are just a fraction of the total.

``It's after four years that the number has increased,'' said an employee in the buffalo bazaar in Behrampura. ``Farmers are selling off their animals due to water scarcity,'' said an official at the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.

``I am already taking care of more than 5,000 cattleheads; we have stopped accepting animals from other panjrapoles,'' said Ahmedabad Panjrapole Sansthan in-charge A Bhasyam.

Other cattle pounds in the State are facing similar problems. Deesa Rajpur panjrapole has 4,500 cattleheads which is 1,000 more than its capacity. Others in Dehgam, Dholka and thesix pounds in Kutch are also facing a resource crunch, sources pointed out.

In most pounds, the expenses have shot up considerably. ``We used to receive Rs 3 lakh from our patrons in the Jivdaya Mandali in Mumbai; now we need Rs 6 to 7 lakh,'' rued a cattle pound official in Ahmedabad.

The institutions are facing fodder scarcity too. ``We are feeding them twice, but green fodder is not available,'' complained Bhasyam.