Amid reports of artificial fattening of cattle, medium sized cows appear to be in high demand in Dhaka’s Eid cattle markets.
Two days before Eid-ul-Azha, on Saturday, businesses were booming at the cattle markets in the city. But many sellers were holding on to their best possessions, hoping for a better price on the last day.
At Gabtoli, Shyampur and Agargaon markets most of the cows were of medium height and weight, with a price range of Tk 30 to 70 thousands.
Few appeared willing to buy the large animals.
Munshi Bepari, who brought five large cows to Gabtoli on Sept 29, could manage to sell only two of them.
He complained that although he had followed proper procedures to fatten his cows, but he had been unable to convince suspicious customers.
At one place in the market, sellers put up a banner over several healthy cows, stating, “Fattened in clean environment with organic methods. No hormone injections or steroid tablets.”
The Agargaon market did not have such ads. There were very few large cows.
Alauddin, a seller, brought 12 medium sized cows from Chapainawabganj on Thursday. By Saturday 10 of them had been sold.
Shaympur Balur Math leaseholder Omar Faruk said most buyers were looking for small and medium cows.
There are few goats in these cattle markets as most goat sellers have put up impromptu markets along Dhaka’s streets and alleyways.
In front of the parliament building, four men were seen selling about 30 goats.
Halim, one of the sellers, said business was good. But they could not stand in one place for too long as police were frequently chasing them away.
They had brought some 50 goats from Munshiganj, of which 20 were already sold.
For the sake of safety, as soon as they sell a goat, the sellers promptly transferring the money to their home with the help of mobile money transferring services.
Source: bdnews24
