Fears are high that rawhide might be smuggled into India through Feni district border as its price is quite low in Bangladesh.
Panchgasia rawhide market traders said Indian businessmen have already appointed more than 100 brokers on the district border to collect raw hides from local traders.
Local rawhide traders were frustrated after having failed to get any bank loan for continuing their business during Eid-ul-Azha when they profit a lot in the business every year.
Indian businessmen then made it a case for taking the chance of lending them without any interest on the condition that raw hides would not be sold anywhere except them.
A Panchgasia raw hides trader Nizam Uddin said rawhide comes to this market from different parts of this district as well as those from Noakhali, Lakshmipur and Comilla during Eid-ul-Azha every year.
Rawhide however might not come in here in large quantities this year as in the previous years because a major part of the rawhide are feared to be smuggled into India, he said.
He added that a strong syndicate has already completed its all formalities for collecting, preserving and smuggling out raw hides from the district’s various places like Fulgazi and Parshuram bordering India, said rawhide trader Nizam.
The Border Guard Bangladesh officials are however aware of the possibility of smuggling out the rawhide and now in preparation for stemming it.
Acting director of BGB Battalion 4 Maj Shamim Iftekhar said they were in preparation for setting up check-posts at 43 points across the 122-kilometre district border in order to stem the smuggling of cattle skins into India.
Comilla BGB Sector Commander Col Md Zillul Haq on September 29 announced a reward for helping arrest any raw hides smuggler while holding a meeting with local administration and public representatives at Parshuram and Fulgazi upazilas in the district.