Cattle markets in the capital were bustling with buyers and traders on Thursday, two days ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.

A large number of cows, goats, sheep, camels, bullocks, dumbas and buffaloes are now up for grabs at cattle markets in the city.

During a visit to some cattle markets at Mohammadpur, Kachukhet and Meradia,  cattle buyers were found to be unhappy with the price of cattle as traders are demanding higher price than the previous years.

Makeshift cattle markets in the capital officially opened on Wednesday, but sale at those markets started partially 3-4 days prior to the scheduled date.

Cattle trade at Gabtoli started in a full swing and the traders are expecting that the sales will reach the peak in the next few days.

A large number of cattle have been brought to Dhaka ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, and many more are on the way.

Many buyers are alleging that cattle prices are higher this year while the traders are claiming that higher feed price increased the price of cattle.

Riadul Islam, a cattle buyer at Basila cattle market in Mohammadpur said he bought a small cow at Tk 1, 20,000 from the market on Thursday.

“The Price of cattle is much higher this year,” he said, adding that same cows were selling at Tk 80,000-90,000 last year.

Bashir, a cattle trader comes from Kushtia, said, “I brought eight cows on Tuesday while sold two of those on Wednesday and five on Thursday.”

“We mainly bought cow from local farmers and sold it to customers. Demand of cow is lower this year than the previous two years,” he said.

As per the city corporation directives, the sales will officially start on 6 July in the makeshift cattle markets in the capital.

Visiting the Meradia cattle market in the capital, cattle traders from different parts of the country were seen gathering with a large number of sacrificial animals.

Arif Hossain, a private company employee visiting the market, told the Daily Sun that thr price of cattle is much higher this time for this and he bought a goat at Tk 22,000.

Traders from different parts of the country, including Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet, Barishal, Kushtia, Madaripur, Bogura, Pabna, Sirajganj, Rangpur, Manikganj, Mymensingh and Khulna were busy taking truckloads of sacrificial animals to the capital.

The government has set up livestock medical service center at makeshift cattle markets across the country to check health of sacrificial animals ahead of the Eid-Ul-Azha. A total 22 veterinary medical teams have been appointed at the cattle markets in the capital from Wednesday.

The teams will also prevent the sale of diseased and sick cattle in the markets.  A total 1,739 veterinary medical teams have been working across the country.

The country has 1.21 crore sacrificial animals available this year for the Eid-ul-Azha, according to the Fisheries and Livestock Ministry data.