Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim on Monday said an online platform for selling and buying sacrificial animals could help char (river island) farmers get fair prices and reduce crowding in the physical cattle market amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The government has taken a pragmatic initiative so that cattle farmers and owners in mainland and char areas could get fair prices for their sacrificial animals,” the minister said while addressing the inaugural ceremony of an online market of sacrificial animals in Gaibandha district via a video conference from his Dhaka office Monday morning.
Valokini.com and Gana Unnayan Kendra (GUK), a local reputed non-government organization, jointly organized the webinar.
The speakers said generally the char farmers rear cattle, goats, sheep all year-round. They later sell those animals at different cattle markets of the district before the Eid-ul-Azha.
To halt the spread of coronavirus, the government has suspended all cattle markets in the district and as a result, farmers of 165 chars are in tension and anxiety with their sacrificial animals, they added.
Taking this matter into consideration, the authorities of valokini.com and GUK took the initiative to sell the sacrificial animals of char people on an online platform, they said adding that such an initiative would help clients buy sacrificial animals at reasonable prices without any harassment.
Valokini.com CEO Karamot Ullah Bipob said, “Clients will be able to pick and choose any sacrificial animal displayed on the website.”
“After negotiation, the client will have to send 25% of the total value of the animal in advance through Bkash. The authorities of valokini.com or GUK will then go to the clients’ houses before Eid and hand over their purchased animal and collect the rest of the money,” he added.
The minister also sought the cooperation of all the concerned, especially from the media to popularize the online cattle markets and thanked the organizers for such an initiative.
