As the time of Eid-ul-Adha draws closer, the farmers of Kushtia district are growing worried about the sale of sacrificial animals this year.
With the Eid in mind, more than 1.5 lakh cows and goats have been prepared in Kushtia district for sale in different markets of the country like every year as due to the fattening of cows by natural food and the Black Bengal Goat, there is a huge demand for Kushtia cattle all over the country.
In other years, with one-and-a-half months left of Eid, traders from all over the country flock to Kushtia district to buy their favorite cows and goats, but this time the picture is completely different due to the Corona epidemic.
Eid-ul-Adha is less than a month away, but due to the Corona epidemic, traders have not yet set foot in the district. Strict lockdown is going on across the district alike the whole country. All the cattle markets in the district are also closed. It is not clear when the lockdown will end.
In this situation, about 18,000 farmers here are suffering from extreme anxiety over the huge number of animals prepared for Eid-ul-Adha. In addition, about 20 percent of the unsold animals on Eid-ul-Adha have gone unscathed due to corona. Concerned people say that if Corona can't sell the animals again, thousands of farmers in the area will be left stranded.
Kushtia District Animal Resources Officer Dr Siddiqur Rahman said about 1.51 lakh cows and goats have been prepared in the district targeting Eid-ul-Adha this year. Of them, 90 thousand cows and 71 thousand are goats. The number of animals this year is a little higher than last year. Last year this number was 1 lakh 48 thousand.
The demand for cows in this region is the highest in the country as they are fattened artificially without any medicine. Similarly, the country's famous Black Bengal Goat is found only in this region, so there is a huge demand for cattle as well as goats. Keeping in view the demand, cows and goats are reared in about 17 thousand 793 farms of the district as well as in almost every household in the rural areas.
Amirul, son of late Arj Ali Biswas of Hatia village in Jhaudia union of Kushtia Sadar upazila has prepared a few cows targeting Eid-ul-Adha. One of the cows is huge in size.
The cow is named Black Cow because of its black color. Amirul bought the cow two years ago. He has fattened the cow by eating only wheat husk without any medicine or anything harmful.
The purpose is to sell the cow at a good price on Eid-ul-Adha. He did not sell the cow and left it for sale this year as he did not get the right price for the last Eid-ul-Adha. But due to the corona virus, Amirul is always worried about whether he will be able to sell the cow at the desired price.
Omar Farooq, a farmer from Khazanagar area, and Zakirul Islam from Hatsh Haripur Union, along with thousands of other farmers in the area, are worried about selling sacrificial animals like Amirul.
Raushan Ara of Burtipara area of Kushtia Sadar Upazila said he managed to sell only two of his six cows last year.
He left the remaining 6 cows saying that he would sell them at a good price this year as he did not get a good price due to Corona. But as the day of Eid draws closer, Raushan Ara's worries seem to be growing. The market is closed due to corona.
He is sleep deprived due to the worry of where to sell the cows in the end. If it is not sold, he will not be able to keep it at home for another year. He lamented that the prices of all the food items including animal husbandry including bark, bran, straw and bichali are constantly increasing. Meanwhile, besides cattle, those who are rearing goats are also reported to be suffering from the same problem of selling goats, he added.
Kushtia District Animal Resources Officer Dr Siddiqur Rahman said the overall situation was not going well. Due to the corona epidemic, all the 15 haats in the district are closed due to lockdown. About 1 lakh cows have been fattened for sacrifice in the district this time.
About 80 percent of the cows are taken to different markets of the country including Dhaka-Chittagong to meet the demand of the district. But because of the corona, if the farmers can't finally get to the cattle market, they will have no choice but to sit on their way.
In this situation, the District Animal Resources Office is providing training to the farmers and encouraging them to sell their animals online.