In just one day, Eid-ul-Azha, one of the main religious festivals of Muslims, will be celebrated across the country. Devout Muslims have already started buying sacrificial animals according to their means, following religious custom. As in other years, the look of the capital has changed. Sacrificial cattle and goats can be seen almost everywhere, on the roads and in the lanes between houses. The animals are tied up in front of buildings or in the garages inside, so the forecourts and garages of Dhaka's apartment buildings have largely taken the form of cowsheds.

A tour of different parts of the capital on Tuesday (27 June) morning found cattle and goats tied in front of and in the garages of a number of buildings. They had been bought at markets across Dhaka for the sacrifice. In the Banasree area, a sacrificial animal market was seen set up right in front of homes, causing trouble for local residents, many of whom expressed anger.

Some residents were annoyed at a cattle market in the middle of a residential area. Firoz Alam, a resident of Meradia in Banasree, told Jago News: "A cattle market has been in front of our building for four or five days. The cattle are tied in the road so that we can't get out of the building, and the smell of dung and urine makes it impossible to stay inside. We have been suffering for days. A cattle market should not be allowed in front of homes like this."

Md Mamun, a resident of Rampura, said: "Yesterday (Monday) the landlord bought a sacrificial cow and it is being kept in the building's garage. Five of us tenants will buy a cow together. We spoke to the landlord and he allowed us to keep it in the garage."

Mohiuddin Khan, the owner of a building in Rampura, told Jago News: "Every year we buy a sacrificial cow and keep it in the garage. There's nothing else to do. There are no separate cowsheds in Dhaka, so at Eid we have no choice but to turn the garage into a cowshed."

The same was seen in the Malibagh area, with cattle tied on the ground floors of various buildings. Mahabubul Rahman Babu, a resident there, said: "On Monday I bought a sacrificial cow for Tk 3 lakh. For a while I tied it in front of the building, and at night I kept it in the garage. Everyone in Dhaka who does the sacrifice is in the same position."

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