Despite a sufficient stock of local cattle heads reared for sacrificial purposes during the Eid-ul-Azha, the cattle markets in Rajshahi are flooded with Indian cattle heads.
Due to such a large number of supply of Indian cattle heads in Rajshahi markets, local cattle farm owners and cattle readers have become disappointed over the sale of their stocks during the ensuing Eid-ul-Azha.
After visiting Rajshahi City Hat, the largest cattle market in the northern region, this correspondent noticed a huge supply of Indian cattle heads there. The price of Indian cattle is also less than those of locally reared cattle.
Due to the impact of a huge presence of Indian cattle, the price of locally reader cattle heads has also been fallen and thus local cattle readers were incurring a huge loss per cattle heads.
It is learnt, Indian cattle are entering the country through some bordering points of Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj. The cattle those entered through Chapainawabganj borders, are transported to Rajshahi and Dhaka through trucks via joint check posts of BGB and the Customs at Rajabrihat of Godagari upazila.
Rajshahi Animal Resource department sources informed, there are nearly one lakh locally reared bulls and buffaloes and two lakh 28 thousand goats and 2,000 other animals totalling three lakh 70 thousand sacrificial animals ready for sale during the Eid-ul-Azha. Even after the Eid, there will be some 100,000 cattle heads surplus.
Under such situation, local cattle farm owners have expressed their disappointment at the import of Indian cattle heads. They mentioned, due to flood and Coronavirus situation, the price of cattle heads is very low this year and the import of cattle from India before the Eid will further decrease the price of the sacrificial animals and this incurring them a huge loss.
Lieutenant Colonel Ferdous Ziauddin Mahmud, Commander of BGB, Rajshahi-1 battalion informed, there are four frontier cattle corridors in Rajshahi. Of those, Indian cattle are entering through one corridor.
However, he has no idea about the corridors of Chapainawabganj. He further said, if the government keeps the frontier cattle corridor open to import cattle, the BGB has nothing to do.
According to sources, demand for sacrificial animals has been decreased abnormally this year. Malek Mia, owner of a cattle farm at City Bypass area informed, he has been moving with seven cattle from one hat to another for several days to sell those but the price of cattle heads is very low this year. He further said such low price of cattle heads is due to import of Indian cattle.
Atiqur Rahman Kalu, Leasee of Rajshahi City Hat informed, there is a very low turn out of customers of cattle in the hat for the last two week but now only three -day left for the Eid, the number of customers was increasing gradually.