Eid-ul-Azha, the Qurbani Eid, will be celebrated on 10 July. Cattle and goats have been arriving at the capital's markets for several days, and with only three days to go, every market is full. But sales have not really picked up yet; most buyers are visiting the markets to check prices.

Almost every market in the capital has some big cattle. Three large cattle have arrived at the Moitree Sangha ground in Shahjahanpur. They come from different areas and have different names: one is 'Raja Babu', the other two 'Dipjol' and 'Kabila'. Raja Babu, weighing about 1,200 kg, is priced at Tk 15 lakh, while Tk 6 lakh and Tk 5.5 lakh are being asked for Dipjol and Kabila respectively.

Raja Babu is kept in front of hasil (toll) booth number one on the Shahjahanpur ground. Dipjol is in front of Building 18 of the railway colony, and Kabila near Building 11 of the railway colony.

Rabbani, Raja Babu's owner, who came from Jamalpur, told Jago News that the highest offer so far had been Tk 7 lakh. "I'll wait a few more days. If I get a good price after checking the market, I'll sell," he said. Many buyers have come offering Tk 5 lakh to Tk 5.5 lakh, he said.

Abdus Salam Khan, Dipjol's owner, who came from Rajbari, said he was asking Tk 6 lakh and would let the animal go if the bargaining went well. Asked about the name, he said: "I didn't name my cow Dipjol. After seeing it on a YouTube channel, some people in the area named it Dipjol. Since then it has been known by that name."

Meanwhile, banks in the capital's cattle market areas will stay open until 8pm for three days. Branches and sub-branches near the sacrificial animal markets of Dhaka North and South City Corporations will, under special arrangements, run banking services for extended hours (6pm to 8pm) until Thursday, 7 July. On the two days before Eid (Friday and Saturday), these branches and sub-branches will also be open from 10am to 8pm.

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