Play fair with the cattle markets

Cattle markets are a big business in the capital during the Eid-ul-Azha season. Makeshift markets pop up at specific places in Dhaka every year, which tells us that a lot of land is getting leased out for that purpose. While the leasing of land is supposed to be a free and open process through bidding, the reality of the situation is that only a handful of people get the leases every year. The haats are almost always leased out to people in positions of power, mostly ruling party affiliates and ward councilors, profiting off the backs of tax-payers. This is not fair play. There is a good amount of money to be made by our city corporations through these leases, money that can be spent on improving our city. Instead, most of it gets pocketed by a few enterprising party men and administrative heads, effectively making this an oligopoly. This unscrupulous practice should be ended.