Many people may not have managed to buy a sacrificial animal of their choice within budget before Eid. But cattle markets in the capital were still trading on Eid day.

That was the picture at the Gabtoli cattle market on Monday (17 June). Munna, a resident of Rayerbagh, was keen to sacrifice an animal but could not buy a cow before Eid because of the prices. He said the traders were asking too much.

"Yesterday (Sunday) I couldn't find one within budget, brother. Cows are so expensive this year and the traders wouldn't let them go. In the end I managed to buy a cow for Tk 80,000 on Eid morning. Yesterday they wouldn't sell this cow for less than Tk 1 lakh," Munna told Jagonews.

Some who had already bought one cow came to Gabtoli to buy another for sacrifice. One of them, Shawkat Molla, came from Mirpur. "I bought a cow before Eid, but I want to sacrifice one more, so I want to buy another," he said.

Rahim Sheikh, a trader from Raninagar in Naogaon, brought nine cows to the market and sold eight. He plans to sell the last one before heading home.

Buyers who had been unable to buy a cow for various reasons came to the market after the Fajr prayer. Sellers were asking Tk 1.3 lakh for a cow that would yield three and a half maunds of meat.

The appointed day of Eid-ul-Azha is 10 Dhul Hijjah, when the Muslim community celebrates Eid-ul-Azha, offers the Eid prayer and sacrifices animals. But the sacrifice is not limited to one day: it may be performed on 10 Dhul Hijjah and on two more days, from after the Eid prayer on the 10th until sunset on 12 Dhul Hijjah.

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