A writ petition has been filed in the High Court seeking an order to stop market lessees collecting money, in the name of hasil (toll), when animals are bought and sold for the Eid sacrifice.

The writ asks the court to issue a rule asking why an order should not be given to take the necessary steps to stop the collection of tax, hasil or any other kind of money on the sale of animals during Eid-ul-Azha.

The respondents are the secretaries of the home ministry, the local government ministry and the religious affairs ministry, and the inspector general of police (IGP).

Lawyer Md Yunus Ali Akond filed the writ with the relevant section of the High Court on Wednesday (24 May), and confirmed it to Jagonews himself.

Yunus Ali Akond said the government, in breach of the law, leases markets to local people for a small sum, and a syndicate takes the leases at nominal prices.

He said collection of hasil at markets across the country, especially at cattle markets during the Eid sacrifice, pushes animal prices up several times over, and is one of the main reasons meat prices rise. If hasil collection stops, animal prices will fall and people will be able to buy meat more cheaply.

For these reasons he filed the writ in the public interest, he said. He added that it may be heard on 28 May by a High Court bench of Justice KM Kamrul Kader and Justice Mohammad Showkot Ali Chowdhury.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.