Photo: BSS

By Kabir Ahmed Khan

DHAKA, June 3, 2025 (BSS) – Makeshift cattle markets in the capital are yet to draw crowds a day after they were set up in designated places in the capital with traders expecting the trading to reach its peak on Thursday and Friday before the Eid.

Witnesses said the truckloads of sacrificial animals continued to arrive at different cattle markets from various parts of the country while the Eid-ul-Azha is set to be celebrated on Saturday.

Department of Livestock Services (DLS) officials estimated over 1. 24 crore cattle were ready to be traded as sacrificial animals this year throughout the country.

But he assumed roughly 20.68 lakh cattle would remain as surplus.

They said a large number of these animals were being brought to the capital in view of its population size.

“Nineteen temporary cattle markets are set up in the capital under the oversight of the capital’s two city corporations on the occasion of the Eid,” DLS director Dr ABM Khaleduzzaman said.

The animals are being traded at two other permanent cattle markets in the city.

A BSS correspondent who visited the Tejgaon cattle market Dhaka Polytechnic Institute ground reported that Atiq Hasan Swapan, a resident of Islampur, Jamalpur, brought 16 cows this morning for sale.

He quoted a price range between Tk. 1.30 and Tk 1.40 lakh for his cows.

Ikram Hossain brought 16 cows from Pabna and Mohidul Islam of Chuadanga brought 22 cows to the market.

A buyer who introduced him as Akhtar Hossain of Nakhalpara said his budget was Tk. 1.40 lakh to buy a cow while inspecting the cattle at the haat.

“The price does not seem high, but I will buy a cow within my budget,” he said.

According to the buyers and sellers at Polytechnic Institute ground, more than 10,000 sacrificial animals were sold in this market during the last Eid-ul-Azha while they expect arrival of 20,000 cattle this year at the spot.

But most of the customers said that they would buy animals tomorrow or the day after tomorrow while they were visiting different markets to check price variations.

Md Altaf Hossain, a cattle farmer from Binnadari village of Shahzadpur upazila in Sirajganj, brought two cows, each weighing over 240 kgs, to Koromza haat in Bera upazila of Pabna on Tuesday.

With traders arriving from across the country and designated haats filling up swiftly, the city is entering its annual phase of spirited livestock trade.

A visit to several of these sites reveals rapid development. Most of the bamboo structures are already in place, while sellers and agro farm owners have marked their spaces.

An official of a market lease recipient, Zayan Enterprise, Maniruzzaman Monir told BSS, "this time a lot of cows are coming to the market”.

Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) set up nine temporary cattle markets alongside its permanent facility at Gabtoli, while Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) organized eight temporary markets in addition to its permanent one at Sarulia.