e_Paper, Friday, August 25, 2017

10
FRIDAY, AUGUST 25, 2017
DT
News
Qatar restores diplomatic ties
to Iran amid Gulf crisis
• AFP, Doha
WORLD
Qatar is to restore full diplomatic relations
with regional power Iran, its foreign ministry
announced Thursday, in a significant move at
a time of diplomatic friction within the Gulf.
A statement from the ministry said Qatar
aimed to bolster relations between the two
countries, which share the world’s largest
natural gas field.
“The State of Qatar announced today that
its ambassador to Tehran will return to exercise
its diplomatic duties,” read the statement.
Qatar was also seeking to “strengthen bilateral
relations with the Islamic Republic of
Iran in all fields”, it added.
In Tehran, the foreign ministry said Qatar’s
decision followed a telephone conversation
on Wednesday night between Foreign
Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and
his Qatari counterpart, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman
Al-Thani.
“During the conversation... the Qatari
side expressed their desire to send their ambassador
back to Tehran and we welcomed
this decision,” said ministry spokesman
Bahram Ghassemi.
Doha pulled its ambassador from Tehran
in January 2016 following attacks on the Saudi
Arabian embassy, spurred by Riyadh’s decision
to execute a Shia cleric in the kingdom.
The decision to restore ties comes as Qatar
is locked in a diplomatic impasse with Iran’s
great regional rival, Saudi Arabia, which has
accused Doha of ties to Shiite Iran and support
for Sunni Islamist extremist groups. •
A screenshot from Bengal Meat’s website offering sacrificial animals ahead of Eid-ul-Azha
Qurbani just a click away
• Ibrahim Hossain Ovi
FEATURE
There is hardly any space in
Dhaka to keep sacrificial animals
for a few days. It is just
as difficult to arrange feeds
and a caretaker to look after
the animals.
Mohammad Ali, a retired
service-holder living in Mirpur,
Dhaka, is unable to visit
the cattle market due to his
old-age complications and
had to resort to buying a cow
online for the upcoming Eidul-Azha.
“After getting to know
about e-commerce, I bought
a cow and have been relieved
of the tension of rearing the
cattle as the service provider
will send it to my house before
Eid day,” said Ali.
Some young tech-savvy
entrepreneurs have made Eid
easy for city dwellers like Ali.
Now one can buy an animal
sitting at home, without
having to physically go to the
cattle market. And the animal
will be delivered to one’s
home from the farm.
At present, a number of
e-commerce sites and meat
processing companies are
selling sacrificial cattle online
and offering home delivery,
in Dhaka. The cows are
reared through animal husbandry
and no fattening drug
is used on them.
An expatriate Bangladeshi
can now buy a sacrificial animal
online for his family back
home. For such purchases, he
will have to pay through a recognised
payment method and
provide his home address.
“In today’s busy life, people
want things delivered to
their doorstep. Considering
these aspects, a few years
back, we started an online
service to sell sacrificial animals.
Within a short period,
the service has gained popularity,”
Ataur Rahman, CEO
of www.amardeshamargram.
com, said.
He continued: “We have
networks in different districts
from where we collect
products, as well as cattle
for Eid-ul-Azha. This year we
have collected animals from
Narsingdi and Kishoreganj.”
He said the supply of cow
is lower than that of last year
owing to the floods in the
northern districts.
Ataur said they try to create
a direct link with farmers
in different districts online,
which helps them get better
prices for cattle.
Some of the online shops
offer unique facilities such
as slaughter service and distribution
to addresses mentioned
by the customers.
Bengal Meat Processing
Industries CEO AFM Asif said
that although Bengal Meat
usually provides processed
meat, it has now introduced
online cattle shopping, considering
its popularity in the city.
This year Bengal Meat has
put up 300 cows on its website
and already over 100 of
them have been sold. Last
year, Bengal Meat had sold
150 cows.
Asif said their cattle are
reared under the supervision
of registered veterinarians.
“The cattle are given
natural feeds and health
checks on regular basis to
ensure supply of disease-free
healthy cattle for Eid-ul-
Azha,” he said.
“For consumers, it is
tough to visit farms. But by
visiting our website one can
choose and buy his/her cow
for Qurbani,” he said.
Bengal Meat also offers
slaughter and meat processing
services. The site www.
upohar2me.com is another
online portal which offers
cows for sale and delivery.
“The rise in sales and involvement
of new entrepreneurs
in the online cattle marketplace
is a positive sign for
the emerging e-commerce sector,”
said Rajib Ahmed, president
of E-Commerce Association
of Bangladesh (ECAB).
“To bring more business
through the e-commerce
platform, the government
must provide policy support,”
he said, pointing out
it would also help in the progress
of Digital Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, some online
shops are providing farmers
with a chance to display their
cows from where a consumer
can choose and directly contact
the farmers.
“We have displayed cows
on bikroy.com and other online
marketplaces. We are
getting response from the
buyers. It is a good place
to sell,” Mohammad Jalilur
Rahman, a farmer in Ashulia,
told the Dhaka Tribune.
Salek Shahriyar, head of
Marketing and Communication
office of Crown Cement,
said, as a service holder, it is
difficult to manage time to go
to the cattle market.
On other hand, involving
an outsider in the buying
process of animal is also troublesome,
he said.
“But after being informed
about the online marketplace,
I decided to buy a cow
for Eid-ul-Azha from online
shops.” •