Indonesians prepare to welcome Eid al-Adha

By Ainur Rohmah

TUBAN, Indonesia

Indonesians across the world's most populous Muslim nation are preparing to welcome Eid al-Adha on Monday by flocking to markets to procure cattle, or by packing their bags and making the often long and arduous journey home.

On Sunday, thousands of people were crowding train stations, bus terminals and airports in an effort to celebrate Eid with their families, but the majority were crawling across the country on cheap -- and often very noisy -- 125cc motorcycles.

"We had to ride slowly and carefully because Suramadu bridge is very crowded by cars and motorcycles," motorcyclist Fatimah, who had to cross the longest bridge in East Java province to return to her hometown in Madura Island, told Anadolu Agency by phone Sunday.

Many Indonesians are feeling the pinch this year, due to the economy slumping to its slowest pace in six years, so some say they have chosen to collectivize the small money they have put aside for the festival and invest in one single cow.

Jakarta resident Muhammad Zamroni told Anadolu Agency that he had clubbed together with neighbors for the sacrifice.

"It's too tough for me to buy a cow myself, so with six neighbors we collected some money," Zamroni said Sunday, adding that they'd paid 19 million rupiah ($1441) for their cow.

Such cattle are selling for 18-20 million rupiah this year, the Chairman of the Association of Cattle and Buffalo Breeders Teguh Boediyana told Anadolu Agency by phone, adding that that was the equivalent of seven goats.

"The supply of animals was no problem this year as the association had prepared for Eid long ago," he said

Ahead of Eid al-Adha, governors in various provinces assign vets to check the health of the animals.

On Sunday, Agus Wariyanto, the head of Central Java's Department of Husbandry and Animal Health, told Anadolu Agency that it had commissioned around 150 vets to check animal markets in the last week.

"We test for worms in their body, and we also give them vitamins so they do not stress," he said.

More than 50,000 police officers are being employed across the country this year to secure the flow of traffic, while on alert for possible terrorist attack.

Since January, when attacks in Jakarta killed eight people -- including four Daesh-linked assailants, Indonesia has been clamping down on terrorist groups across the archipelago, detaining dozens of suspects on terror charges.