The area around the house was flooded with mud. For the past three months, Abdul Alim’s four buffaloes had been tied up in that mud around the clock. After learning of their plight through social media, the upazila executive officer (UNO) of Mahespur, Jhinaidah, rescued the animals Sunday night.
UNO Md Sajjad Hossain went to Abdul Alim’s home in Gokulnagar village in the upazila, rescued the buffaloes, and had them moved to dry ground beside the house. He also directed the family to prepare a proper shelter for the animals within 15 days.
Sajjad Hossain said the family had been instructed to provide the buffaloes with a safe space and adequate food. He warned that legal action would follow if a suitable environment for the animals was not arranged within 15 days.
Local residents said Abdul Alim, son of the late Fazar Ali of Gokulnagar village, kept his four buffaloes tied in thick mud beside his home. The animals used to be taken out to graze in the fields, but that had not been possible for the past three months of the monsoon season. Many in the area could not accept that the animals were kept tied in mud around the clock, and some had asked Alim to move them, but he took no action.
The matter caught the attention of local environmental activist Najmul Hasan, who photographed the buffaloes’ condition and posted about it on Facebook. Mahespur UNO Sajjad Hossain saw the post and rushed to Abdul Alim’s home after sundown Sunday, bringing Najmul Hasan along. The UNO freed the four buffaloes from the mud.
Abdul Alim was not home at the time. His mother, Satya Khatun, said: “We told him to sell the animals rather than put them through this suffering, but Alim wouldn’t listen. The women of the house were too afraid to go near the buffaloes, so we couldn’t move them ourselves.”
Najmul Hasan said villagers, too, were pained to see the buffaloes suffering, but Abdul Alim never took them out of the mud. “I posted about the buffaloes’ condition on Facebook after seeing it for myself,” he said. “Once it caught attention, Mahespur UNO Sajjad Hossain came to the scene last evening and freed the buffaloes from the mud.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report