Short supply of sacrificial animals mars Eid joy

FE Report Buyers at the city's makeshift cattle markets were highly disappointed last Sunday, the day before Eid-ul-Azha, with the short supply of sacrificial animals. Due to the scarcity of sacrificial animals, buyers had to move from one market to another to buy cattle head of their choice. But their attempt also paid almost no dividends as the scenario at all the markets was the same. Prices of cattle head had gone up significantly after the midday of Sunday. The buyers had blamed the traders for the short supply, saying that a syndicate of traders increased the prices of sacrificial animals by creating an artificial crisis in the market just a day before the second biggest festival of the Muslims. "This is nothing but a ploy of syndicated traders to gain extra profit," said a retired government official Sirajul Islam, who visited almost all the cattle markets in the city. Another buyer at Gabtoli market said the traders increased the price of each cattle head by Tk 15,000 to Tk 25,000. "A trader charged Tk 55,000 for a medium-sized bull in the morning on the day. But the amount rose to Tk 80,000 in the late afternoon due to short supply of cattle head. It should not be accepted at all," he added. Rejecting the allegation of syndication, some traders said many cattle-laden trucks got stranded on the highways due to severe traffic congestion that led to the crisis in the market. Most of the buyers failing to collect bulls and cows had to choose goats at higher prices. A buyer, Haider Hossain, said he had bought a goat at Tk 10,000 Sunday night which was sold Tk 8,000 in the morning of the same day.