The sturdy black bull starts acting up whenever it sees a crowd. The Shahiwal bull has been raised from birth over nearly three years on the farm of Ashraful Master of Khopati village in Kaunia upazila, Rangpur. Because of its eating habits, temperament and bearing, it has been fondly named "Zamindar".

Every day Zamindar eats 3 kg of cooked broken rice, 4 kg of bran, 4 kg of rice powder and 19 to 20 kg of Napier grass along with bananas. It also likes leaves and creepers. Zamindar now weighs 900 kg (22 maunds).

Locals say there is no other bull like Zamindar in the whole village; to them it is the best. Many people are coming from different areas just to see it.

Farmer Ashraful Master claims that among the many farms in the village, his Zamindar is the best. He is ready to sell it ahead of Eid-ul-Azha and is asking Tk 7 lakh. Zamindar is 8 feet long and 5.5 feet tall and has two teeth.

So far the highest offer has been Tk 5.5 lakh. Ashraful Master will sell the bull if he gets Tk 6.5 lakh at the end. If it is not sold from the farm, Zamindar will be taken to market.

Kaunia upazila livestock officer Dr Sinchita Rahman said arrangements have been made for farmers and growers to buy and sell animals through an online market for this Eid, and farmers are being encouraged to use it.

Farmers and households in the eight districts of Rangpur division have prepared about 14 lakh animals for Qurbani this Eid-ul-Azha, raising them with care in the hope of good prices. Even without cattle from India, the region can meet its own demand and supply surplus animals to other areas.

According to the Rangpur livestock office, more than 1.5 lakh farmers in the division's eight districts have prepared about 5 lakh cattle for sale for Qurbani. Two lakh households have also readied about 9 lakh cattle and castrated goats. Rangpur district has the most, with over 2 lakh cattle on about 33,000 farms.

Last year 13 lakh cattle and goats were ready for Qurbani, and more than 2.5 lakh were left over after demand was met. This year 13.7 lakh cattle and goats are fit for sacrifice, and about 3 lakh animals will be surplus after meeting the region's demand.

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