DHAKA -- Moves by the Modi government in India to crack down on the country's previously strong beef industry in the name of protecting cows, holy to Hindus, have given new life to the sector in neighboring Bangladesh.
Until recently, the porous border between the two countries was the backdrop to a thriving illegal cattle trade. But India has clamped down on cattle smuggling over the last year, and the number of cows traded across the border has fallen to around 2 million from 3.5 million annually, according to Robiul Alam, secretary general of the trade group Bangladesh Meat Merchants' Association.
