With Eid-ul-Azha approaching, last-minute trading has picked up at the sacrificial animal markets in Madaripur. With a plentiful supply of animals, markets across the district and its upazilas are crowded with buyers and sellers, and hard bargaining goes on from morning till night.

Law enforcement agencies are also working in plain clothes to stop counterfeit notes and the activities of "molom party" gangs, who drug and rob people at the markets.

The market in the Habiganj area of Madaripur Sadar is a large one. Miraj Khan, a farmer from Banshgram in Kumarkhali, Kushtia, has brought 27 animals here. The biggest attraction among them is an 18-maund Holstein Friesian bull he has raised for four years. He is asking Tk 8 lakh for it, and buyers crowd around it. So far the highest offer has been Tk 5.5 lakh, but Miraj hopes to get more.

"The Habiganj market is very big. My 18-maund bull is the big attraction here. I hope to sell it within a day or two. Although I am asking Tk 8 lakh, I will sell if I get Tk 6 lakh or a little more," Miraj Khan said.

Local resident Azizul Haque said many people from the area live in Italy, so cattle sell well here. "Price is not a problem. Everyone buys a sacrificial animal according to their means," he said.

Tuhin Khan, who came from the Shrinadi area, said he had bought a cow for Tk 1.6 lakh. "The atmosphere at Madaripur's markets is quite good this year," he said.

Anwar Hossain, a farmer from the Dudhkhali area, said he waits all year for the Eid sacrifice season. "That is why I fatten the animals on my farm entirely by traditional local methods. Now I have brought them to sell at Tekerhat," he said.

The market at the Tekerhat Bandar area in Rajoir upazila of Madaripur is nearly a hundred years old, and it too is drawing crowds of buyers and sellers. Because it sits beside the Dhaka-Barishal highway and is easy to reach, sellers bring animals here from different parts of the country.

Sachindra Nath Biswas, acting district livestock officer of Madaripur, said the district and upazila livestock offices are keeping track of every market. Besides, 18 teams are moving around the district. If any animal falls ill, treatment is arranged at once, and officials are also making sure buyers and sellers are not harassed.

Madaripur Additional Superintendent of Police Fariha Rafiq Bhabna said police are working in plain clothes at the markets to catch counterfeit-note dealers and stop molom party gangs. Patrols have also been stepped up on regional roads and highways, so that sellers can go home safely with their money and buyers with their animals.

Mir Monir Hossain, commander of RAB-8 in Madaripur, said drives are continuing at the markets to catch counterfeit-note traders, thieves, muggers, and molom and "ogyan party" gangs. RAB-8 members are deployed round the clock to prevent disorder at the markets and on the roads, and are working to ensure traders can return home safely with the money from their sales.

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