Even madrasas did not receive rawhides in Kishoreganj

Hundreds of rawhides were buried under the soil in Ghagra, a village in Kishoreganj district's Mithamoin Upazila. 

Even the madrasa authorities did not want to take the rawhides as giveaways due to the carrying cost to the nearby markets. 

In this Eid-Ul-Adha, no trader offered the villagers a price above Tk100 for a cowhide, which were being sold above Tk2,000 three-five years ago. 

Munirul Islam, a villager, uploaded a photo of a cowhide during while burying it on Sunday morning. 

"We were waiting for someone to come so that we can give it away. But no one showed up and we have to destroy it now," he wrote in the social media post. 

While talking to The Business Standard, he said, "On Saturday evening, one of the local men offered Tk50 for the hide of a mid-sized bull we sacrificed. Naturally, we asked for more since we used to sell similar rawhides at above Tk2,000 in three-four years ago." 

"He (the local trader) turned away and no other buyer was seen till now (Sunday afternoon)," he added.

"We knocked local madrasas and mosque authorities and they also denied to pay for the transportation. They were not sure if they will be able to get even the transportation cost by selling the hide," he further said. 

The young private company executive said that at least 500 sacrificial animals were slaughtered in his village this year. 

"I am yet to hear if anyone managed to sell any hide. Most of the villagers buried them," he said. 

The union, also named Ghagra, had at least 1,000-1,200 sacrificial animals slaughtering this Eid. 

"If there were a proactive awareness campaigns, I myself could have arranged a community initiative to preserve the hides. It's not that much of a tough job," Munirul said. 

"But now, I cannot believe my eyes to see such destruction of resources," he added. 

"The government must think about the issue seriously. Raw hides are being buried while leather products are way pricey for many people," he further said.

Mahfuzur Rahman, a teacher at Ghagra Nafiul Ulum Hossainia Koumi Madrasa, said, "Charity helps us finance some poor students. We collected and failed to sell most of the hides last year." 

He also said that no hide buyer communicated with the Madrasa before eid this year, which they do each year. 

"So, we chose not to collect the hides," he added.

Ali Hossain, a seasonal rawhide trader who was willing to pay Tk50 for each of the cow-hides said that none of the regional merchants assured him of buying cow-hide above Tk100, 

"That's why I didn't take risk of buying the hides at a higher price," he added.

"We cannot preserve raw hides yet. But we will have to do it for securing a good price in the coming years," he further said.