Tech platforms solving the problem of Qurbani amid pandemic
Panic gripped Sultana Ahmed of the capital's Mohakhali DOHS the moment she learnt that live slaughtering and meat processing of cattle was barred in her neighbourhood this Eid-ul-Azha to minimise coronavirus transmission.
A devout Muslim, she never missed this ritual in her life and was getting worked up about how she would manage this year.
But her fears were assuaged when she stumbled upon a Facebook page by the name of Tarzan Box that was providing complete Qurbani service.
That establishment was only dealing with cows and she sacrifices one cow and two goats every year to accommodate the names of all her family members. She was again fretting about where would manage the goats.
But she breathed a sigh of relief when she received a text message on Monday evening from food delivery platform HungryNaki informing of its latest product: goat for Qurbani.
HungryNaki is providing the option of both farm-to-doorstep and farm-to-table.
Ahmed wasted no time in ordering two 18-25 kg goats with the platform complete with processing. "It is a handy service. I hope it lives up to my expectations," she said.
One can take a good look at the goat before buying it through a live video call, said AD Ahmad, chief executive officer of HungryNaki.
The weight of the goat will be measured and the price will be determined in front of the customers in the video call.
"We have received a tremendous response from customers. Because people now don't want to go outside and our services are designed to reduce the hassle of the customers," he said.
On the total weight of the goat, customers have to pay Tk 550 per kilogramme and another Tk 1,200 for Eid day delivery after processing or Tk 1,000 for delivery on the second or third day of Eid.
The platform launched the service on July 15 and it has so far received upwards of 400 orders for goats. Of the orders, more than 80 per cent have sought the full Qurbani service.
The full Qurbani service is not new in Bangladesh as meat processor Bengal Meat has been providing it for more than five years.
"But, our service is unique for the fact that if customers think that cooking goat meat will be a huge hassle for them, we also have arrangements to do it with our own experienced cooks," said Ibrahim Bin Mohiuddin, co-founder and deputy CEO of the platform.
Orders can be placed for a minimum of 2 kg of Shahi Rezala for Tk 1,000 and a maximum of 10 kg for Tk 5,000.
As of yesterday, HungryNaki received cooking orders for upwards 400kg of goat meat.
Not only HungyNaki, many tech-based platforms -- from ride-hailing service providers to fresh vegetable home delivery providers -- are betting big on the Eid cattle business this time given the extraordinary circumstance under which the festival would be celebrated this year.
Popular ride-hailing service provider Pathao has recently entered the cattle business.
"As cities imposed partial restriction on makeshift cattle markets and open slaughter for the risk of contracting the lethal disease, we came to provide the service to our customers who are facing problem with their Qurbani," Hussain Elius, co-founder and CEO of Pathao, told The Daily Star.
Cows would not be delivered to customers to avert health risk and only meat of the purchased cows would be brought to the customer's doorsteps after processing it in a hygienic way.
"Demand for cows priced below one lakh taka is high," Elius said.
Haatbazzaar.com.bd, a new online site focusing on delivering fresh vegetables to the customers, has already received 20 orders for cows and goats in just two days.
"We are getting an unbelievable response from the customers. We are bringing the cattle from small farmers from Netrakona and Munshiganj, who nurture their cattle by feeding them grass in the open fields," said Mehedey Hasan Rony, founder of the platform.
The full Qurbani service was the "new phenomenon" for the Eid cattle market, said Sharfuddin Ahmed Chowdhury, head of sales, marketing and distribution of Bengal Meat.
"Over 90 per cent of our customers are availing the meat processing service," he said.
Online grocery shop Khaas Food has also come forward on cattle trading with processing services.
Thousands of people throng the cattle market. It is almost impossible to look around for cattle while maintaining social distancing, said the platform on its Facebook page.
Meanwhile, customers can easily view cows in its online market and order one, it added.
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