Chattogram bans Eid cattle markets beside roads, highways and railway lines

Chattogram Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Zahidul Islam Mia ordered that no sacrificial cattle markets be set up beside roads, highways or railway lines in the district for the coming Eid-ul-Azha. He gave the instruction on Sunday 10 May 2026, chairing the district law and order committee meeting in the conference room of the Chattogram Circuit House, Jagonews24 and the Dainik Azadi reported. The meeting also stressed a special drive to recover illegal arms, passenger safety at ferry terminals and control of prices around Eid.

Four days earlier, on 6 May, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed had told a press briefing during the deputy commissioners' conference in Dhaka that cattle markets would not be allowed near highways and railway lines so that Eid journeys would not be disrupted. According to bdnews24.com, he also said machines to detect counterfeit notes would be installed at cattle markets and surveillance at the large markets would be stepped up.

According to both newspapers, the deputy commissioner said cattle markets could not be set up beside roads, highways or railway lines under any circumstances, and that the authorities concerned had to take a firm stand to prevent traffic jams and public suffering. He said no cattle market would be allowed at important sites either, including the health complex land in the Karnaphuli area.

He called on the administration, law enforcement agencies and everyone involved to work together to prevent road accidents and hardship around Eid-ul-Azha, saying all must stay alert so that road accidents were not repeated.

The deputy commissioner also stressed safety on ferry crossings. According to the Dainik Azadi, he said that, in line with the Prime Minister's instruction, all passengers must get off buses and trucks before the vehicles board a ferry at every terminal, including the Kumira-Guptachhara and Sandwip routes, so that they cross safely. He also asked for awareness banners at the terminals. Sandwip is an island upazila of Chattogram District in the Bay of Bengal, made up of the islands of Sandwip and Urir Char, with a population of 327,564 in the 2022 census.

The meeting ordered steps to ease traffic jams in the Notun Bridge area and on the Chattogram-Cox's Bazar highway. Speakers said keeping footpaths free of encroachment would cut jams considerably, and that markets and shops on the road and CNG-run auto-rickshaws stopping anywhere had to be stopped, Jagonews24 reported. Mobile courts would jail or fine those charging excessive fares around Eid, the meeting was told.

The meeting reviewed the district's overall crime situation for the previous month and ordered a special drive to recover illegal arms, both reports said. Referring to recent violence and killings in parts of the district, the deputy commissioner said no situation that damaged the government's image could be allowed to continue, and that terrorism, displays of arms, extortion and drug dealing had to be firmly curbed. Jagonews24 reported that he told the meeting proposals to settle about 200 cases described as political had been sent to the Home Ministry the previous month.

According to the Dainik Azadi, a representative of the Superintendent of Police said drives against terrorism, extortion, drug trafficking and drug users would continue, and that lists of teenage gangs, drug dealers and criminals would be drawn up and action taken with the help of public representatives and local dignitaries. The meeting was also told that protests must not bring public life to a halt, and that a "zero tolerance" policy would apply to extortionists, including those using a political identity.

On Eid prices, the deputy commissioner said a culture of lowering the prices of essentials at festival time, as in developed countries, needed to be built, and that traders and everyone concerned had to act responsibly. Employers were asked to pay workers' wages and bonuses before Eid.

Those present, the Dainik Azadi reported, included the committee's advisers and members of parliament Nurul Amin, Humam Quader Chowdhury, Ershad Ullah, Mohammad Enamul Haque, Shahjahan Chowdhury and Mohammad Zahirul Islam, along with representatives of the district police, the Chattogram Metropolitan Police, the navy, the NSI and other intelligence agencies, Upazila Nirbahi Officers and political parties.

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

Sources: Jagonews24, Dainik Azadi, bdnews24.com, Wikipedia (Sandwip Upazila, Shah Amanat Bridge)