Eid-ul-Azha is approaching. In Faridpur, a bull raised for Qurbani has been named Rajababu, and it is the biggest in the district. All eyes are now on the huge 30-maund "Rajababu", and people crowd every day to see the giant animal.

Farmers across Faridpur are extremely busy ahead of Eid. This year the district has more cattle and goats ready than it needs, so farmers are smiling, and they are busy caring for their animals, forgetting even to eat and bathe.

Adu Mondal, a farmer from Debinagar village in Ramnagar union of Nagarkanda upazila, has raised the bull for three and a half years and lovingly named it Rajababu. Weighing 30 maunds, Rajababu is 9 feet long and 6 feet tall. The Fleckvieh bull now has four teeth. Despite its huge size, Rajababu is very calm. There is a crowd at Adu Mondal's house all day to see it.

According to the district livestock department, demand for animals in Faridpur this year is about 90,000, while more than 103,000 are in stock. Cattle from more than 8,000 farms are waiting to go beyond local markets to the rest of the country. But feed prices are a problem: with costs high, farmers are worried about their profits. The district livestock department is working to make sure no sick or injected cattle reach the markets.

Rajababu's owner Adu Mondal told Jagonews: "Rajababu was born to one of my cows. I have raised him since birth. He is gentle and calm and never acts up with us. That's why I named him Rajababu. I fed him grass I grew myself, straw and bran. I didn't give him any outside feed. I couldn't sell him last year. This time I will sell him. But I won't name a price; I'll discuss it with whoever comes to buy. Rajababu weighs 30 maunds, that is 1,200 kg."

"I grow grass, I grow paddy. I eat rice from the paddy, and I feed him the straw. My Rajababu is the biggest in Faridpur district. Whichever market he goes to, he'll shake it up. Whoever buys him will win. I haven't put any illegal feed in his stomach, and he has never been ill," he added.

Adu Mondal's wife Sahera Begum told Jagonews: "We raised Rajababu with great love and care, like our own child. He behaves like a king, so we named him Rajababu for fun. The bull is very calm and about three and a half years old. People come to see him every day, but hardly anyone has come to buy. If he isn't sold from home, we'll have to take him to market. When I hear about selling him I feel very sad."

Local residents Aynal Sheikh and Iyasin Molla said people come from different places every day after hearing of the district's biggest bull. "We have seen him up close all year. We have never seen him fed anything but local feed," they said.

Faridpur district livestock officer Dr AKM Asjad told Jagonews that there are very few large cattle in Faridpur this year and more medium-sized ones. Rajababu, at 30 maunds, is the district's biggest this year. The district has more animals than it needs, and the 30-maund Rajababu will liven up Faridpur's Qurbani markets, he said.

He added that farmers in the district's nine upazilas have been trained and advised in various ways on producing safe meat. This year 8,169 farmers in the district are raising 103,361 cattle, against demand for 90,864. There will be no shortage of Qurbani cattle in the district, he said.

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