Bogura cattle market buyers and sellers allege tolls above set rates before Eid

In the run-up to Eid-ul-Azha in 2026, on Saturday 23 May, the trade in sacrificial animals was in full swing at the cattle markets of Bogura. According to a report by Jagonews24's Bogura correspondent, business worth crores of taka was under way at more than 50 large and small markets across the district. Amid the rush, buyers and sellers alleged that the people of the market lessees were collecting extra toll, known locally as hasil, on every cow and goat in disregard of the government-set rates. Those affected were calling it 'toll terror'. The report said the allegation had been raised about almost every big cattle market in the district.

Jagonews24 noted that under government policy the toll rates at cattle markets are fixed. Instructions from the Local Government Division set a fixed amount for cattle, buffalo and other large animals and a lower rate for goats and sheep. Traders and buyers alleged that, in practice, these rates were being largely ignored at Bogura's markets.

Visiting the Sabgram cattle market in Bogura Sadar upazila on the afternoon of 23 May, the Jagonews24 reporter saw Tk 1,000 being taken from the buyer and Tk 200 from the seller for every cow sold, so that up to Tk 1,200 in all was being collected on a single cow. Traders said this was several hundred taka above the government rate. The picture was the same for goats: up to Tk 500 was being taken from the buyer and Tk 100 from the seller for each animal.

Mokchhedul Islam, who was in charge of collecting the toll, told Jagonews24 that they were taking it the way they had been told to, and that the lessee could explain why more was being collected. Sagar, who collected the toll on cattle, said they were taking whatever amount the lessee had fixed. In his words, the collectors earn a commission on every memo; they are only collectors and have no scope to go beyond their instructions.

The Sabgram market's lessee, Abdul Kaiyum Sarkar, pointed to the cost of the lease. He told Jagonews24 that he had leased the market for Tk 1 crore 5 lakh 3 thousand, and that on top of this he had to pay 15 per cent VAT, 10 per cent income tax and a 10 per cent security deposit. Market conditions were not very good either and there was a risk of loss, he said, so it was not possible for him to collect toll at the government rate. Asked why the toll amount was not written on receipts, he said it was written if someone asked for it, and not otherwise.

The reporter found, however, that the toll amount was missing from most receipts, which carried only the animal's price and the name. The report said this made it hard for anyone to keep proof of being overcharged.

Reza, from the Dhawapara area of Sadar, bought a goat for Tk 12,500 and paid Tk 500 in toll. A toll of Tk 500 for one goat was in no way normal, he said angrily, but he had been forced to pay it. Chhaiful Islam, who had come to sell goats, said that in the past the toll had been taken only from the buyer, but now it was being taken from the seller as well, and there was no way to leave the market after selling a cow or a goat without paying.

Jagonews24 reported that the situation was the same at the Mohasthan market in Shibganj upazila, where up to about Tk 1,400 per cow was allegedly being collected from the buyer and the seller together. Several traders said a fixed sum was being charged whatever the price of the animal. A farmer who had come to Mohasthan to sell cattle said that even though many animals change hands there, anyone who did not pay the toll was treated badly, and anyone who protested faced trouble.

Mizan Sarkar of the Sutrapur area told Jagonews24 that he had bought a bull for Tk 1,15,000 and paid Tk 1,200 in toll, while the seller, Shamim Hossain of Tengra village in Sadar upazila, also had to pay Tk 200. At the market, the reporter saw several men surrounding people together to collect money after they entered. Buyers and sellers alleged that anyone who questioned the charge faced delays in getting a receipt, trouble over loading and unloading animals, or raised voices.

According to the report, similar complaints were made about the Ghoradhap and Joy Bangla markets in the town, the Bhabanipur market in Sherpur, the Talora and Dhaper Hat markets in Dupchanchia, the Bhatra market in Nandigram, the Malancha market in Kahalu and several cattle markets in Gabtali. Traders said that, with Eid approaching, a 'toll syndicate' had effectively become active at the markets. Farmers complained that the pressure of extra tolls ended up in the price of the animals, so that ordinary buyers paid more while genuine farmers' profits shrank.

Before the Jagonews24 report, on 21 May, Prothom Alo had published similar allegations about the Mohasthan market. After speaking to buyers and sellers on the market day of Wednesday 20 May, the paper reported that the lessee's people had taken Tk 1,400 in all on every cow traded: Tk 1,200 from the buyer and a further Tk 200 from the seller. For goats, Tk 500 was taken from the buyer and Tk 200 from the seller, Tk 700 in all. There too, receipts carried no toll amount. A buyer from the Khandar area of the town told Prothom Alo that he had paid Tk 500 in toll on a goat bought for Tk 40,000, and the seller had paid Tk 200.

Jagonews24 reported that for this year's sacrificial animal markets the local administration had set the toll at Tk 800 for large cattle and Tk 600 for small cattle, to be collected from the buyer only. Citing the Shibganj upazila administration, Prothom Alo gave the full schedule for the Mohasthan market: Tk 800 for a cow priced above Tk 1 lakh, Tk 600 for a cow below Tk 1 lakh, Tk 1,000 for a buffalo, and Tk 250 for a goat, castrated male goat or sheep. The allegation was that these rates were being ignored and toll was being taken from both buyer and seller at whatever rate the collectors chose.

The Mohasthan market's lessee, Ashraful Islam, did not deny collecting more. He told Jagonews24 and Prothom Alo that all year round the market takes Tk 750 from the buyer of a cow and Tk 100 from the seller, and that a slightly higher rate was being charged for Eid. Admitting that toll was being taken from sellers, he said that at every market toll is collected from both buyer and seller; others were doing it, and so was he.

Ziaur Rahman, the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Shibganj, told Jagonews24 that the toll had been fixed at Tk 800 and Tk 600 for cattle and Tk 250 for goats or sheep, that there was no scope to collect more than the fixed rate, and that the administration would take action against the lessee. Earlier, he had told Prothom Alo that action would be taken against the lessee if the allegations were found to be true on inquiry.

Buyers and sellers told Jagonews24, however, that despite the many complaints there was very little visible monitoring by the administration on the ground, and mobile courts or monitoring teams were rarely seen at the markets. Jagonews24 said it called the deputy commissioner and the upazila nirbahi officers concerned several times on their official mobile numbers about market monitoring and excess tolls, but could not reach them.

By then almost every cattle market in the district was full of animals, priced from Tk 50,000 to Tk 10 lakh. As Eid drew closer, sales were rising, and so were the complaints of excess toll. Buyers and sellers said this 'toll terror' would not stop unless the administration kept strict watch, the toll amount was made compulsory on every receipt, and the official rate list was displayed publicly at each market.

The Mohasthan cattle market is in Shibganj upazila of Bogura. Prothom Alo described it as one of the traditional and largest livestock markets of northern Bangladesh. Quoting local people, the paper said the market, several centuries old, holds its cattle trade every Wednesday, and that trade is busiest there every year before the Eid sacrifice. Traders, dealers and buyers come from different parts of the country, buying cattle here and supplying them to the cattle markets of big cities including Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet and Feni.

On the market day of 20 May, Prothom Alo found that large cattle were in plentiful supply but buyers for them were few, while small and medium-sized cattle were in high demand and dearer. According to traders and dealers, small and medium cattle cost Tk 20,000 to 30,000 more than the year before and large cattle up to Tk 50,000 more on average. A farmer from Joypurhat asked Tk 10 lakh for a 1,600-kilogram Holstein Friesian bull, while buyers offered Tk 4 lakh. A dealer from Dhaka told the paper that truck fares had also risen with the price of fuel.

The village of Mohasthan, where the market is held, is also the site of Mahasthangarh, the earliest urban archaeological site found so far in Bangladesh. It lies about 11 kilometres north of Bogura town on the Bogura-Rangpur highway, beside the Karatoya River. This was the ancient city of Pundranagara, capital of the Pundravardhana region. A limestone slab found here in 1931, inscribed in Prakrit in the Brahmi script, shows that the city existed by at least the third century BCE, and its fortified area remained in use until the eighth century CE. Standing on the red soil of the Barind Tract, raised above the surrounding land, the site is relatively free of floods.

Shibganj is the northernmost upazila of Bogura District, with an area of 314.92 square kilometres. It was created in 1983, and the 2022 census counted 400,456 people there. The Karatoya flows south through the upazila, which borders Rangpur Division to the north and Joypurhat District to the west.

On 16 May the Daily Inqilab published figures from the District Livestock Office. They showed that 740,537 animals had been prepared in Bogura for the 2026 sacrifice, raised on 5,200 farms. They comprised 298,784 cattle, 2,155 buffaloes, 385,569 goats and 54,029 sheep. The year before, 746,842 animals had been prepared in the district. Farmers told the paper that 6,305 fewer animals had been raised this time because the previous year had not brought the profit they expected.

In the same report, farmers alleged that the price of every kind of cattle feed, including wheat bran, rice polish, oil cake and straw, had risen abnormally, raising the cost of rearing each animal by 25 to 30 per cent compared with the year before. To avoid hassle, many farmers were selling both online and offline, with arrangements to deliver animals straight from the farm to the buyer. Buyers at the markets said that although prices were somewhat higher than the year before, there was enough supply of cattle of every size.

Md. Rayhan, the Bogura Sadar upazila livestock officer, told the Inqilab that the livestock department was giving farmers technical support and advice to ensure safe sacrificial animals, and that specialist veterinary medical teams had been kept ready at every cattle market to identify sick animals. At a seminar of the Livestock and Dairy Development Project in Bogura on 17 May, the State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock, Sultan Salauddin Tuku, said the country had more than 1.23 crore animals, a surplus of about 22 lakh over the expected demand, so there was no need to import cattle for Eid. BSS reported that he also said Border Guard Bangladesh and local administrations had been directed to step up surveillance against the illegal entry of cattle across the border.

Bogura is a district of Rajshahi Division. According to Banglapedia it covers 2,898.68 square kilometres and has 12 upazilas. It is bounded by Joypurhat and Gaibandha to the north, the Jamuna River and Jamalpur to the east, the Chalan Beel, Natore and Sirajganj to the south, and Naogaon and Natore to the west. Its main rivers are the Karatoya, Jamuna, Nagar, Bangali and Ichamati. The 2022 census counted 3,734,297 people in the district. Banglapedia lists agriculture as the main source of income, for 57.32 per cent of the people, followed by commerce at 13.63 per cent. The eastern alluvial tract along the Jamuna grows jute, aman rice, sugarcane and pulses, while the higher land in the west suits paddy.

At a press conference at the Secretariat on 3 May, the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock said the country had 1,23,33,840 animals fit for sacrifice for 2026, against an estimated demand of 1,01,06,334. They comprised 56,95,878 cattle and buffaloes, 66,32,307 goats and sheep, and 5,655 animals of other species. The minister, Mohammad Amin Ur Rashid, said there was no risk of a shortage this year, and since the country had more animals than it needed, none would be imported.

According to reports in Desh Rupantor and bdnews24.com, the press conference was told that 3,678 cattle markets would be held across the country with veterinary teams, and more than one team at large markets. In Dhaka, 27 markets under the two city corporations would have 20 veterinary medical teams and two specialist medical teams. Special trains would carry animals from the north to Dhaka and on to Chattogram. The minister said no toll or hasil would be charged on animals sold online, and that the government would take a hard line against extortion on the roads and at the markets so that it did not push up animal prices.

The previous year's figures were also on record. The ministry said 1,24,47,337 animals had been available for sacrifice at Eid-ul-Azha in 2025. Citing the Department of Livestock Services, The Business Standard reported on 10 June 2025 that 91,36,734 animals had been sacrificed that year: 47,05,106 cattle and buffaloes, 44,30,668 goats and sheep, and 960 others. Another 33,10,603 animals went unsold. In 2024, 1,04,08,918 animals had been sacrificed.

By the same count, Rajshahi Division, to which Bogura belongs, saw the largest number of sacrifices of any division in 2025, at 23,24,971 animals. The department said the figures were compiled by stratified random sampling, taking samples of at least one per cent from three villages, one small, one medium and one large, in every upazila.

The date of Eid in 2026 was fixed on 18 May. That evening the National Moon Sighting Committee, meeting at the Islamic Foundation's conference room at Baitul Mukarram, announced that the Zilhaj moon had been sighted, so Eid-ul-Azha would be celebrated across the country on Thursday 28 May, BSS and Bangla Tribune reported. The toll complaints in Bogura came in the final week before that Eid.

Markets in Bangladesh are governed by the Hats and Bazars (Establishment and Management) Act, 2023 (Act No. 10 of 2023). Parliament passed the bill on 9 February 2023 and the Act was published in the Bangladesh Gazette on 13 February. It repealed the Hats and Bazars (Establishment and Acquisition) Ordinance of 1959, a law from the Pakistan period. The Act defines a hat or bazar as a place where, daily or on fixed days of the week, the public buy and sell goods including farm produce, fruit, animals, poultry, eggs, fish, meat and milk.

Section 7 sets out how tolls are fixed. For markets at district, upazila and municipality level, the deputy commissioner, and for city corporations the authority concerned, must assess the value of goods traded, fix the rates of toll, tax, rate, fee or charge, prepare a complete list and publicise it after government approval. The approved rates must be attached to the lease notice, the tender schedule and the contract signed with the lessee. In other words, what a lessee may charge on each animal is part of the lease contract itself.

Under Section 5, market management committees may be formed at district, upazila, municipality, city corporation and union parishad level to oversee day-to-day operation, the collection of tolls and fees, and maintenance. Section 4 allows temporary markets to be set up for a fixed period, without permanent structures, for religious or other special festivals with the deputy commissioner's prior approval, which covers the temporary cattle markets of the Eid season. Section 6 leaves the leasing procedure, the lease contract and the handling of lease money to be set by rules.

The Act's penalty clause, Section 12, deals mainly with the illegal occupation of the market's government khas land and illegal structures on it: the offence carries up to one year's simple imprisonment, a fine of up to Tk 5 lakh, or both, and under Section 15 such offences can also be tried by a mobile court. On tolls, the Act's main safeguard is the published list of approved rates and its inclusion in the lease contract.

In Dhaka the toll rule took a different form. On 20 May, the administrator of Dhaka North City Corporation, Md. Shafiqul Islam Khan, told a meeting with lessees that a lessee could take 5 per cent of the sale price as hasil and nothing more from the seller of a cow. He said about 100 officials had been given magistracy powers to act against irregularities, and that the sacrificial markets would run for five days as the rules require. A year earlier, on 1 June 2025, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner had also said lessees could collect only the fixed toll and that legal action would be taken against anyone collecting more.

Complaints of excess toll at Bogura's cattle markets were not new in 2026. On 13 June 2024, Prothom Alo reported from the Dhap Sultanganj market in Dupchanchia upazila. The paper said this market, several centuries old, holds its cattle trade every Thursday, and that on that market day, ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, animals by the lakh were brought there for sale. Buyers and sellers were already alleging then that the lessee's people were charging toll at will.

A buyer from Savar told Prothom Alo that although the administration had announced a toll of Tk 500 over loudspeakers, the lessee's people had taken Tk 1,000 from him, and complaining to the administration had made no difference. The Dupchanchia UNO at the time told the paper that after the complaint the upazila assistant commissioner (land) had been sent to the market, and had run a drive and fined the lessee Tk 20,000 for collecting excess toll.

Another buyer from Savar said then that in other years, taking a truckload of cattle from Bogura to Dhaka's Gabtali market had meant paying more than Tk 5,000 in extortion at points along the highway; that year highway extortion had eased, but buyers were fed up with the lessees' extra collections at the big markets, from Mohasthan to Dhap Sultanganj. In the same report a truck owner at the Mohasthan market said the fare for carrying cattle from Mohasthan to Gabtali had risen from Tk 15,000 the year before to Tk 25,000, and to Chattogram from Tk 30,000 to Tk 40,000.

Prices in 2024 moved the other way from 2026. Prothom Alo reported that with supply high, medium cattle at Dhap Sultanganj were selling for Tk 10,000 to 15,000 less on average than the year before and large cattle for up to Tk 50,000 less, and farmers said they could not recover their costs. Across two very different seasons, one complaint from buyers and sellers stayed the same: toll collected above the rate the administration had announced.

Photo: Wasiul Bahar / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Sources: Jagonews24, Prothom Alo, The Daily Inqilab, bdnews24.com, Desh Rupantor, Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), The Business Standard, Bangla Tribune, Bangladesh Gazette (Hats and Bazars (Establishment and Management) Act, 2023), Banglapedia, Wikipedia