Monwara Begum and Rahima Begum, aged over 40, arrived in the city along with their two boys the day before the Eid day by a train from Mymensingh. On Eid day, they collected meat from different houses in the city and left for homes by another train on that night.
Monwara and Rahima, two siblings, along with their boys managed to collect around 16kgs of meat from Green Road, Kalabagan, Kathal Bagan and Central Road areas in the city. They sold half of their collected meat at Tk 1300 at a temporary market at Green Road and take half to their homes at Isharganj in Mymensingh.
Monwara said she has been arriving in the city for collecting meat during the Eid-ul-Azaha for the last six years. She said her sister Rahima and other relatives have arrived here this year by Balala Express train the day before Eid and passed the night at the Kamalapur Station corridor.
“I started collecting meat at noon on Eid day and managed to collect around eight kgs till the evening,” she said, adding that she has sold half of them at a temporary market at Green Road and returning home with rest of the meat. Monwara said while she was waiting for a train at Kamalapur Railway Station on the night of Eid day.
Like her, several thousand poor people arrive in the city days before Eid-ul Azaha to collect meat every year and leave the city afterwards.
“Many poor people, mostly women and children, started arriving the city by trains for the two days before Eid day. Usually, they don’t pay fare as the trains remain empty on their return from outside the capital,” said Assistant Sub-Inspector Jamal Mazumder of Kamalapur Government Railway Police Station.
Most of them come from Mymensingh, Netrakona, Jamalpur, Sherpur, Kishoreganj and Narsingdi area and usually get off from the train at Tongi, Airport, Tejgaon and Kamalapur railway stations, railway sources said.
Besides, some people from north Bengal districts also arrive by bus and trucks giving low fare for this business.
They sell their collected meat at several hundred small temporary markets which are basically sit for few hours on Eid day in the afternoon and continue until around 9:00pm.
The city dwellers who have no ability to sacrifice cattle on their own usually buy the meat from these temporary markets. Besides, owners of a section of restaurants also buy meat from these shops.
“I bought 14kgs of meat at Tk 150 to 200 per kg from five temporary markets today as I could not sacrifice cattle this year,” said grocery shop owner Habibur Rahman Patwari at Green Road market.
Kawser Ahmed, 14, who earns his livelihood from streets in the National Stadium area, said he goes to his village home at Chandina of Comilla before Eid-ul Fitr every year, but he has not been going to his village home for the last three years on Eid-ul-Azha as he collects meat in the city.
“I have collected around 10kgs of meat today (Eid day) and sold them at Tk 2,000,” Kawser told this correspondent.
Like him, many security guards, rickshawpullers, domestic helps, slum dwellers do the business on Eid day and go to their village homes afterwards.
