Job well done

Two city corporations did a good job in removing wastes of sacrificial animals from the capital this Eid but many city dwellers had slaughtered cattle right on the streets and released their waste into surface drains due to lack of awareness.

Together, the north and south city corporations designated over 1,200 sites for slaughtering cattle with a view to contain the haphazard dumping of animal waste which harms public health and pollutes the environment.

However, most of the people were not even aware of them. They blamed it on the lack of awareness campaign. Again, many said they could not take their cattle to the designated sites due to rain on the Eid day.

The Daily Star correspondents saw animals being slaughtered on almost every street in Gulshan, Banani and Mohakhali residential areas and their wastes being released directly into surface drains throughout the entire Eid day. 

As there was “no awareness campaign”, many city dwellers did that in a casual manner, said Shahana Akhtar, who lives in Mohakhali.

Anwara Begum, who is from Gulshan Road-2 area, echoed Shahana.              

Before the Eid, two city corporation mayors announced that they would sensitise all city dwellers and distribute garbage bags among them for free.

“But the waste bags were insufficient and they did not reach every house,” said Ali Akbar, caretaker of a multi-storey apartment building on Gulshan Road-35.

He, however, praised the way animal wastes were removed from the city.

But Moslem Mia, a Gopibagh resident, said, “This year, we had hoped that it would be different. Yes, they've cleaned big roads swiftly but for those who live in narrow lanes, the situation did not change.”

Shafiqul Haque, who lives in West Jatrabari, said he knew about the designated sites but did not go there intentionally.

“I was not sure whether would I get a butcher and an Imam there. Again, it would have been difficult to bring the meat back home.”

To avoid all the “hassles”, he said, he hired butchers and slaughtered his cow on the street in front of his house.

“I did not go to the designated site due to rain,” said Sohel Ahmed, a resident of Mirpur-12, Pallabi area.

Sourov Rahman, a Khilgaon Taltola resident, said he did not go to the designated site at a playground near a graveyard as “the area was quite murky.”

“The street in front of my house was much cleaner and convenient for slaughtering my cow,” he said.

Similar cases were heard while visiting Jatrabari, Sayedabad, Jurain, Dhalpur, Gopibagh, Tikatuli, Arambagh, Nawabpur, Ganaktuli, Kasaituli, Nazimuddin Road and Becharam Deuri areas.

Some people threw horns, skulls and dung of sacrificial animals here and there that created a strong stench in the localities. There was also putrid smells of blood everywhere.

Mirpur residents, however, were happy with garbage removal on Eid day as the cleaning workers arrived at different roads right after 1:00pm and started collecting garbage.

Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Annisul Huq at a post-Eid press conference said they removed over 7,800 metric tonnes of animal wastes in 48 hours since midday of Eid.

Quoting sales receipts, he said, 1,97,535 sacrificial animals were sold in the north city corporation areas.

Over 3,000 cleaning workers were deployed for the cleaning, he added. 

Asked about the slaughtering of animals on streets and dumping of waste into surface drains, he said, “We did not look into such details.” 

Animal waste was “completely” removed from south city areas much before the 48-hour deadline, Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Sayeed Khokon said at a similar press conference.

 “We were able to remove around 19,002 tonnes of animal waste,” he added.

Our correspondents in Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal and Sylhet reported that the respective cities were cleaned much earlier than the previous years although people did not slaughter their sacrificial animals at the designated sites.

Abdul Wahid, a resident of Shamimabad residential area in Sylhet, said, "Almost no one went to the designated slaughtering sites but the city corporation successfully cleaned the streets.”

Salauddin Mohammad Nizam of Potenga Chowdhurypara, Chittagong, said they were happy that cattle waste was removed from his area quickly.

President of the Standing Committee on Waste Management of Chittagong City Corporation Shoibal Das Sumon said that they cleaned 90 percent of the total waste of the port city on Eid day.

Eid-ul-Azha, the second largest religious festival of Muslims, was celebrated in Bangladesh on Tuesday.