Noman Mosharef :
With the Eid-ul-Azha just two days away, trading of sacrificial animals in the cattle markets gets momentum in the capital 21 markets including makeshift and two permanent ones at Gabtoli and Sarulia.
According to officials of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), 11 markets will be in DSCC and 10 in DNCC-and all of them will operate while maintaining Covid-19 health safety rules.
Traders from all around the country have gathered at these haats with sacrificial animals that they hope to sell ahead of the Eid, slated for Wednesday.
However, customer presence were getting huge day by day as there is no more enough time to buy the sacrificial animals.
Customers and traders have mixed opinion over the price of the cattle as few buyers have expressed their satisfaction about the price of the cattle and few sellers claimed people leave them for demanding high rate.
On the other hand, the health guideline has indifferently ignored in the cattle markets. The Delta variant of the pathogen has been wreaking havoc in many hospitals and experts fear the situation could take a turn for worse in the weeks ahead.
However, buyers and sellers of cattle in these markets seem to care very little as many are seen without masks let alone maintaining social distancing.
Over the past two days, six persons have been detected with coronavirus in nine cattle markets of the capital city. Four of them were detected today, Sunday.
These coronavirus cases were detected by antigen tests carried out at the BRAC corona protection corners in the city’s cattle markets. According to BRAC, on Sunday till 5:00pm in the afternoon, 35 persons had undergone the corona antigen tests. Of them, four tested positive. On Saturday, 57 persons were tested in 9 booths. Of them, two tested positive. While visited East End Club Playground, Dhupkhola cattle market it seen that a lot of different type of cattle have gathered by the traders from different part of the country.
A cattle trader Arab Ali from Jamulpur has brought 20 cows at Dhuplakhola cattle marker. Of them 14 cattle have already sold and range of the rate of the cattle was Tk 90,000- Tk1, 20,000.
When talked to The New Nation, Arab Ali said, I am happy about the price as I got my expected rate.
He said, remain six cattle will sell within short time.
Other cattle trader from Faridpur Sadarpur Wadud Sardar have brought 27 cattle and said I am hopping these cattle will sell before Eid day as people are started to come at the market.
Wadud Sardar said bank open from Sunday and the buyers have expressed their interest to buy the sacrificial animals.
Manzur Rashid, a buyer from capital Jatrabari area to come to buy a sacrificial animal was walking around the Dhupkhola cattle market said The New Nation that he was trying to choose a cattle with his capacity.
He said, there is different prices cattle and almost all are country’s products and the price of the cattle are our capacity range.
