A cattle market has been set up illegally, without permission, on the field of Moshiur Rahman Degree College in Nilphamari Sadar upazila.

Although the college was open on Wednesday, 21 June, the lessee held the market from 10am until evening. The district education office says a livestock market cannot be held on the field of an educational institution while it is open.

On the ground at 2.30pm on Wednesday, the college office and all its buildings were locked, and no teachers or students were to be seen. Cattle were tied up across the whole field, with buyers and sellers crowding alongside, and the trade in sacrificial animals was brisk. Posts for tying cattle had been driven into the field beforehand. Cattle were also tied to the college's Shaheed Minar and the Bangabandhu mural next to it. A full-day market is reportedly also planned on the field next Sunday.

Asked about the market, Moshiur Rahman Degree College principal Shahidul Islam said: "I cannot say anything about this. I know nothing, and I did not give permission. Talk to the mayor (of Nilphamari municipality); he is the president of my college."

Nilphamari municipality mayor Dewan Kamal Ahmed did not answer several phone calls seeking comment.

Market lessee Md Mithu hung up without answering when asked about holding the market on the college field.

District education officer Hafizur Rahman said a livestock market cannot be held on the field of an educational institution while it is open. When an institution is closed, however, a market may be held in the public interest with the deputy commissioner's permission.

Deputy commissioner Pankaj Ghosh said he was not aware of the cattle market on the college field and had given no permission.

Meanwhile, students and guardians have demanded that the market be moved elsewhere to protect the college field and allow classes to continue.

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