Residents in the Sandwip island of Chattogram wake up to a surprise on the morning of 4 July when they saw a herd of 284 buffaloes grazing on the grounds in Kalichar, spreading speculations across the island over who brought this herd and who actually owned them.
As the day passed, video clips of the herd started making rounds on social media platforms. However, speculations unfolded over the ownership of the herd with two political groups claiming it.
This led the local administration to form a three-member committee to investigate the matter.
Currently, the market price of the buffalo herd is about Tk 50 million, according to the local administration.
As news spread across the neighbouring upazilas and districts, people from various union parishads, as well as Hatia, Noakhali started arriving with many of them claiming that their buffaloes either went missing or were stolen.
Some of the local BNP leaders claimed the herd belongs to any of the Awami League leader, how went into hiding.
However, it has been learned that the buffalo herd came from the island union parishad of Urirchar in Sandwip, while Urirchar union acting chairman and union BNP president Abdur Rahim and his sister’s family claimed the ownership of the herd.
But debate over ownership continues. The buffalo herd is now in custody of Sandwip’s Sarikait union parishad panel chairman Taslima Begum.
Dispute over buffalo in BNP
Abdur Rahim, who claims ownership of the herd, introduced himself as a follower of BNP’s Chattogram north unit joint convener Belayet Hossain.
Certain Aziz, who is a Jubo Dal leader, assisted him in bringing the buffalo herd to Sandwip. Aziz is also locally known as a follower of Belayet Hossain.
Abdur Rahim’s son Md Azim, however, claimed a faction of BNP made the matter complicated out of the party’s internal feud by raising questions over the herd ownership.
He told Prothom Alo they provided the vaccination card of 284 buffalo to the upazila livestock officer Ali Azam. Yet, other people are making issue complicated irrationally.
Md Azim also claimed a BNP faction is also behind the creation of confusion over the ownership of the buffalo herd. “A group is trying to harass and cause trouble for us because of a party feud,” he said without clarifying any certain group or people.
Alamgir Hossain Thakur, member secretary of BNP’s Sandwip upazila unit committee, told Prothom Alo, “Abdur Rahim brought the buffalo herd here due to the crisis of grazing land in Urirchar. However, complexity arose over the matter due to party dispute.”
BNP’s Sandwip upazila unit convener Abu Taher said, “There might be political preferences and dislikes. But, we want the administration to verify the ownership properly and settle the issue.”
How the buffaloes arrived
Prothom Alo spoke to at least 30 locals to learn when, how, and from where the buffaloes were brought. They said that the buffaloes were loaded onto three bulkhead boats from a canal on the eastern coast of Urirchar around 5:00 pm on 3 July. Azim, the son of chairman Abdur Rahim, was reportedly present during the loading. Local buffalo farm owners also saw it.
Md Usman, a resident of Ramgati upazila in Lakshmipur, was the master of one of the bulkheads. He has long been involved in transporting livestock and other goods from Urirchar.
When contacted, he told Prothom Alo, “The buffaloes belong to local chairman Abdur Rahim. That night, due to low tide, we anchored near Bhasan Char. Later, with the morning high tide, we unloaded the buffaloes at Kalirchar in the southern part of Sandwip.”
According to Usman, two individuals named Md Riad and Md Helal were present when the buffaloes were unloaded in Sandwip. Both are nephews of Abdur Rahim and are responsible for taking care of the herd.
When asked, they said that there is less grazing land in Urirchar due to the start of the farming season. That is why we are using grazing lands in Sandwip. The buffaloes will be taken back to Urirchar in the Bengali calendar month of Ashwin (mid-September to mid-October).
Ownership documents summoned
To determine the actual owner of the buffaloes, the upazila administration formed a three-member investigation committee headed by upazila livestock officer Ali Azam on 9 July.
The committee was asked to submit a report by 12 July. However, the committee filed no report as of Tuesday.
Questions also arose over the committee’s activities. The committee members asked the supposed owner for proof of ownership after its formation.
But many people criticised this move, wondering how such ownership could be proven or where documents for buffaloes might be found.
Typically, buffaloes are identified by cut marks or the shape of their horns. Besides, Abdur Rahim, a BNP leader from Urirchar and claimant to the buffaloes, has submitted vaccination cards. Despite this, the committee has not yet determined the ownership.
On Tuesday, the investigation committee summoned the buffalo claimants. However, no decision was reportedly made.
Abdur Rahim, meeting with the committee members, said, “They only asked us about the buffaloes’ identification marks. After that, they dismissed us without giving any decision.”
When asked, committee head Ali Azam told Prothom Alo, “Since multiple parties are claiming ownership, the committee has requested another week to make a decision. One claimant has also submitted vaccination cards. These are currently being verified.”
Sandwip’s upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) Mangcingnu Marma said, “The investigation into ownership is ongoing. Action will be taken based on the committee’s findings.”
However, Md Azim, son of Abdur Rahim, told Prothom Alo that the parties from Noakhali who initially claimed ownership had examined the buffaloes in Sandwip and said the animals were not theirs. Still, the investigation is being unnecessarily delayed, which has led the buffaloes to face a food shortage.
Since the animals are in administrative custody, they are being deprived of access to normal grazing grounds, he said.
It is not unusual for buffaloes to be moved from one char to another. Each year, owners relocate their buffaloes for grazing.
When asked, 70-year-old Md Shahjahan from Choukatali in Sandwip told Prothom Alo, “It is nothing new to take buffaloes to different grazing areas. But given the current situation, no one will dare to move their buffaloes to another char anymore.”