Rampant extortion, snatching of cattle and mismanagement have plunged cattle markets across the country in chaos. In many places, illegal cattle markets have been set up by local influential people, allegedly, backed by ruling party cadres. In Sandwip under Chittagong district, two people were killed and five others were injured in a cattle market during an armed clash between two groups of the ruling party, reportedly, over assuming control of the market. Several incidents of snatching of cattle from the cattle traders have also been reported in the last couple of days. In Sylhet and Tongi, traders were forced yesterday to take their cattle-loaded trucks to unauthorised markets. In the Sandwip incident, two people were shot dead during a clash…

Huge traffic congestion on highways, especially on the Dhaka-Tangail highway, caused immense sufferings…