Till this evening, a number of sacrificial animals, especially bulls, were present at all 16 cattle markets in Dhaka, but customer turnout was notably low until 5:00pm

When you step into the Rahmatganj Cattle Market, located at the Rahmatganj playground in the heart of old Dhaka, a sense of anticipation will grip you about all the sacrificial animals gathered for the occasion of Eid ul Azha. Amidst the lively atmosphere, some are looking for not just any breed of cows, but the prized ‘buitta’, white cows which hail from Mirkadim of Munshiganj.

A Supreme Court lawyer has filed a writ petition with the High Court seeking its directive on the government to stop setting up cattle markets in coronavirus-affected areas including in Dhaka, Chattogram, Narayanganj, Gazipur and other city corporations.

Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh asks elderly people not to go to cattle markets this year to avoid getting infected with coronavirus.

With the Eid-ul-Azha only two days away, sale of sacrificial animals at the capital’s cattle markets is yet to pick up pace. Visiting three markets yesterday, this correspondent found low presence of buyers. Sellers were seen spending time gossiping and wiping dirt off their cattle.