Camels, for the past couple of years, have become regular attraction ahead of Id al-Adha at Alikash cattle market in Balugaon of Darrang district in Assam.

Balugaon is 90km from Guwahati and 17km from Mangaldoi, the district headquarters of Darrang.

Though the number is small, the trend has picked up over the years.

For the past few years, Samudullah Mondal of Darrang have been trading in these animals which he procures from traders in Haryana who fetch the camels all the way from Rajasthan.

“Every time the camels are up for sale, the stock is exhausted within a day or two,” he said.

“People come to me looking for camel as they know my as a camel trader,” Samudullah said, while negotiating prices with some customers which ranges from Rs 70,000 to Rs 1.45 lakh.

This year, Samudullah has procured 23 camels and 19 of them have been sold to customers from Nagaon and Sonitpur districts. “Last year, we brought 19 camels. Every year, there is an increase in people offering qurbani, so we brought more camels this year. We expect about 10 more camels to arrive from Haryana in the next few days,” said Samudullah’s brother, Nur.

“Everyone cannot afford this animal. Still I am not worried. Even if any of the camels remains unsold, traders from other districts will take them,” he said.

On documentation hassles, Samudullah said, “My brother has a permit to import livestock.”

Sahabuddin Rahman, who manages the cattle market, however, said many people still prefer goats or cows as sacrificial animal over camel.

Muhammed Samaun Ahmed Noori, a cleric and a resident of Kalaigaon in Udalguri, said, “Camels are related to nomadic life of Arabs and some Muslims have kind of liking for the animal as Prophet Muhammad had also taken it.”