With the Eid-ul-Azha only a few days away, sacrificial animals wait to be sold at Kamalapur cattle market in the capital yesterday. Pho5to: Palash Khan
Days ahead of the official opening of 19 makeshift cattle markets, traders began to bring large numbers of sacrificial animals in the capital.
The price of the animals was relatively low this year in comparison to the same time last year as the turnout of customers was small despite the availability of a large number of bulls.
Though the official opening date of the markets in the city was set for tomorrow, traders had started to gather their cattle at suitable places for the last several days to attract buyers’ attention.
The cattle market authorities had also started collecting Hasil (service tax to be paid by buyers) though they were not supposed to do it before tomorrow.
ASM Sarowar, a committee member of a cattle market at Mirpur Eastern Housing, said they started taking Hasil as the cattle traders had come to their market early.
Frustration gripped in the minds of the traders until yesterday as the number of customers was very low and their price offers were not up to the expectation.
Abdul Hai, a cattle trader, said he came to the market at Mirpur Eastern Housing three days back with 33 bulls from Pabna but did not get any offer equivalent to the purchase price.
“I am getting an offer of Tk 45,000 for a bull that was purchased from Pabna at Tk 50,000,” he said, adding that last year he had sold six bulls, out of 18, at this market six days before the Eid.
Numerous cattle markets sprang up in different districts, especially outside Dhaka, and this might bring down the prices of animals and traders might have to count losses like the previous year, he added.
Expressing frustration, Md Tota Mia, a cattle trader of Kushtia, said he had counted a loss of Tk 1 lakh last year as the price of sacrificial animals went down on the last day before the Eid-ul-Azha.
Some sacrificial animals were falling sick due to hot and humid weather while they were being carried by trucks and lorries to cattle markets.
Alam, who brought several bulls at Kamalapur Balur Math cattle market from Kushtia, faced a loss worth Tk 1 lakh as one his bulls died yesterday due to heat stroke.
Another cattle trader, Akhter, was passing his time in anxiety at the Kamalapur cattle market as one of his bulls worth Tk 2.30 lakh had fallen sick due to heat stroke.
Meanwhile, the cattle market authorities in the capital had set up fake currency identifier machine with the help of bank officials.
Isfat Ara, an officer of Prime Bank Ltd’s Pallabi branch, said they had brought a fake currency identifier machine to the Eastern Housing cattle market.
“We will remain busy with the machine during any monetary transaction between traders and buyers until the last day before the Eid,” she said.
Rakib Imran, a member of the managing committee of the Gabtali cattle market, said they would complete installation of 10 fake currency identifier machines by today.
Source: The Daily Star
