Staff Correspondent:The High Court has suspended the lease for setting up a sacrificial animal market at Dhaka’s Aftabnagar.

As a result, lawyers say that the animal market cannot be set up ahead of Eid-ul-Adha.

A bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Kazi Zinat Hoque passed the order on Wednesday after hearing a writ petition, according to a bdnews24.com report.

Advocate Shah Manjurul Haque and Advocate SM Shamim Hossain represented the petitioner at the hearing, while Deputy Attorney General Amit Dasgupta stood for the state.

Local resident Md Alamgir Hossain Dhali filed the petition challenging the decision to set up a cattle market in Aftabnagar.

On April 4, the chief estate officer of the Dhaka South City Corporation called the tender under the Estate Department. The tender said a market for sacrificial animals would be set up at the location for five days, including Eid-ul-Adha.

This writ was filed challenging the notification. There, nine people, including the secretary of the local government ministry, the Dhaka South City Corporation, and the chief land officer of the Dhaka South City Correspondent, were named as respondents.

Advocate Shamim Hossain told bdnews24.com, “The court has suspended the lease notification of the city corporation. As a result of this order, cattle markets cannot be set up in Aftabnagar.”

He said, "The living environment of the residential area is terribly damaged due to the setting up of a market for cows and goats. The environment is heavily polluted by animal waste. Aftabnagar residents have to face great difficulty in commuting as the main road is congested all year round due to the market.”

Supreme Court lawyer Yunus Ali Akand filed another petition on the same issue on April 9. However, the same court has removed that application from the agenda, said lawyer Shamim.