Govt launches Digital Haat for sacrificial animals with escrow facility
People will be able to buy animals online with a 10% down payment, the rest to be paid on delivery
Highlights:
- Over 900 local animal markets will be linked to Digital Haat
- Purchase return facility will be available for buyers
- Weight of the animals will be available on the website
- Buyers won't have to pay any hasil (tax) on animals bought
The government has launched "Digital Haat" to facilitate the online sale of sacrificial animals for Eid-ul-Azha with escrow facilities.
An escrow service acts as a third party for online sales to ensure business transparency. Because of this facility, buyers will get a refund in case of any fraud committed by sellers.
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Besides the sale and purchase of sacrificial animals on the site [digitalhaat.gov.bd], customers can avail slaughtering and transport facilities as well.
Inaugurating the platform with a virtual ceremony on Sunday afternoon, Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim said, "If you don't like your animals when you see them in person after your online purchase, you can return the animals. No one has to become a victim of fraud."
"The online weight calculator will further raise the confidence of buyers, with details of the animal available on the website," he said, adding that no hasil (tax) will be due from buyers.
State Minister for ICT, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, bought a cow from Islampur upazila of Jamalpur for Tk 72,000 upon inaugurating the platform.
"People will be able to purchase sacrificial animals from this online platform with a partial down payment of 10%, paying the rest upon delivery, the state minister said.
AHM Safiquzzaman, director-general of the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection, said, "About one million animals are likely to be traded this year and we have an opportunity to overcome the distrust of people regarding e-Commerce platforms. We just have to make sure the real picture of the animal being sold is shown on the website."
Last year, more than 850 regional markets with 10 lakh animals were added to this digital haat. Of them, 3.86 lakh animals sold, he said.
The escrow service launched on a trial basis in 2021, will be fully implemented this time, said Safiquzzaman.
"With this service, if anyone does not like the sacrificial animal, they can return it and will have the opportunity to get their money back," he added.
The Bangladesh ICT Division, e-commerce aggregator ekShop, Dhaka North Municipal Corporation, the fisheries and livestock ministry, the Bangladesh Dairy Farmers Association, and the e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh, jointly took the initiative.
The online marketplace – digitalhaat.net – has run under the auspices of the e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-Cab) for several years. From now on, the market will be run as a government platform.
