A Correspondent :
The Muslim devotees of Chittagong have offered a total of 5.60 lakh sacrificial animals worth about Tk 20 billion during the Eid-ul-Azha on Monday last.
Several sources confirmed that a total of 5.60 lakh sacrificial animals have been offered on past day of Qurbani.
The figures included 4.50 lakh cattle heads, one lakh goats and 10,000 buffaloes.
The cattle heads were sold from Tk 30,000 to more than Tk one lakh. But on an average, one cattle head was cost at about Tk 40,000.
The cost of 4.50 lakh cattle heads was estimated at about Tk 18 billion.
The goats were sold from Tk 7,000 to 40,000. So, on an average the cost of a single goat stands at Tk 10,000. So, the cost of one lakh goats was estimated at Tk one billion.
Besides, a total of 10,000 buffaloes have been sacrificed on the day. The cost of the buffaloes was estimated at Tk 400 million.
According to Chittagong Rawhide Aratder (Stockist) Association, they have procured a total of 5.60 lakh rawhides of sacrificial animals in Chittagong.
The stockists have already processed those rawhides with sufficient quantity of salts.
Then the rawhides were dried in sunshine to sell to the tannery mills owners.
The merchants of Chittagong are constrained to sell the hides to the owners of tanneries in Dhaka. The Association sources said there are two tannery industries in Chittagong that had remained inoperative for long. The Association sources said more than 100 members of the Association and nearly 60 other businessmen have collected the rawhides from the different areas of the district.
It may be mentioned that the organisations of rawhides merchants have earlier fixed up the rate of hides at taka 60-65 per square foot. But they were forced to purchase the hides of cattle heads at taka 80-85 per square foot, more taka 20 of fixed rate. Besides, the rate of goats was fixed at taka 30 to taka 35 per square foot and the rate of buffalo at taka 35 to taka 40 per square foot.
The Association sources said that the hides of goats and the buffaloes were purchased at the same rate fixed by their organisations.
