Haats start sprouting with cattle-traders set to converge on capital

Cattle markets in the city are getting prepared ahead of Eid-ul-Azha in full swing as traders bring a huge number of sacrificial animals from across the country to the capital for sales.
 
Visiting different cattle markets in the city, the UNB correspondent found that structures for keeping the cattle are being prepared in the makeshift cattle markets.
 
Leasers were also taking special measures to deal with rains in the days ahead.    
 
Some 25 makeshift cattle markets will be set up in the capital under Dhaka North and South City Corporations (DNCC and DSCC), up from 22 last year.
 
The DSCC will host 14 cattle markets, while the DNCC will accommodate the other 11. Apart from the makeshift cattle markets, the permanent cattle market in Gabtoli will also be in business.

 
The cattle markets under the DSCC will be located at Meradia Bazar Playground, open spaces of Dhupkhola playground, No. 41 Kawartek playground, open spaces of Amulia Model Town, Aftabnagar Eastern Housing Dawkandi Endulia, Maitree Shangho playground, Shyampur Balur Math, No. 32 Shamsabad playground, Hazaribagh field at Zigatola, Lalbagh Rahmatganj playground, Chairman Bari intersection in Kamrangirchar, Gopibagh Balur Math & open spaces adjacent to Kamalapur Stadium and open space of ShanirAkhra-Daniya playground.
 
The cattle markets under the DNCC will be found at: Open spaces at Kawla-Shialdanga, Uttara-10 Sluice gate to Kamarpara Bridge, open spaces on north side of Mirpur DOHS, open spaces of Dhaka Polytechnic Institute, open spaces of Shahidnagar Housing in Uttarkhan, Badda Eastern Housing (Aftabnagar), open space of Eastern Housing at Mirpur- 6, Khilkhet Banorupa Residential Project, open spaces near the bridge No 1 & 2 at Uttara Sector 15, Vatara (Sayed Nagar), Mohammadpur Intellectual Road adjacent  open spaces, and open spaces of both side of the 300 Feet road of Khilkhet.
 
Chairman of the cattle market committee in Mugda area Mohammad Sirajul Islam said they have already started their works in the field to provide best services to the traders who are expected to start crowding the city from the coming week.

 
Mugda Social Welfare Society took the lease of the cattle market in the area which is located at Gopibagh Balur Math and open spaces adjacent to Kamalapur stadium.
 
He said they will also make arrangements for cowsheds, car parking facilities for buyers, and CCTV surveillance. There will also be special arrangements for cattle traders’ temporary accommodation.
 
The leasing authorities also informed that they will be active in checking fake note exchange as circulation of fake money can harm the traders.
 
Fake note detection machines will be available in the markets to detect counterfeit currency right away, they added.    
 
The leasers expected that cattle traders will start arriving at the haats (makeshift markets) from August 7, while some will come earlier from the flood-hit areas to save their cattle.
 
Visiting another haat at the open space of ShanirAkhra-Daniya playground, the UNB correspondent found the same type of preparations underway.
 
The leasing authorities informed that they will provide all the services like previous years. 
 
They informed that every year they face the challenge of accommodating all the cattle in limited spaces.  
 
The number of cattle farms has been increasing day by day in Dhaka and its adjacent areas targeting Eid-ul-Azha. 
 
According to Dhaka Livestock department, there are 16,728 sacrificial animals in stock in 2,680 cattle farms spread around Dhaka City’s Sutrapur, Tejgaon, Lalbagh, Mohammadpur and  Savar, Dhamrai, Keranignaj, Nababganj and Dohar. 
 
They sell their cattle online and to their known clients without bringing them into the haats as some buyers feel better buying their sacrificial animals from the farms instead of haats. 
 
Besides, consumers have started booking sacrificial animals through online platforms, which is now a very popular way of purchasing something in the digital age.
 
There will be one police camp for each of the markets, while constant supervision and security will be ensured by Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) through CCTV surveillance.
 
Veterinary services at the cattle haats on the occasion of the holy Eid-ul-Azha will be available. 

The Department of Livestock Services (DLS) will set up laboratory test facilities at the livestock farms across the country for controlling use of unhealthy chemicals on the sacrificial animals.
 
Veterinary medical teams will also be working at the haats in the city to provide instant service.
 
The Health and Family Welfare Ministry's concerned department will take an initiative to control the supply and selling of all steroids and hormone-related drugs which are harmful to animal health, according to the ministry officials.
 
Sources at the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), the border guards will strictly monitor the frontier areas to check the smuggling of unhealthy chemicals.
 
The number of sacrificial animals in the country this year for Eid –ul-Azha is 1.7 crore, a slight increase from last year’s 1.6 crore.
 
Eid-ul-Azha, the second largest religious festival of Muslims, will be celebrated on August 12.