Keep Dhaka clean this Eid

To keep the city clean and speed up the management of waste, blood and leftovers disposal after slaughters of sacrificial cattle during the Eid, both the city corporations – Dhaka North and Dhaka South, have taken several measures.

To stop unplanned slaughtering, specific spots – 595 in number – have been designated in the city for the first time to sacrifice animals.

There are 324 spots for Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and 271 for Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC).

The two city corporations will also distribute around 3.8 lakh biodegradable sacks for free among city dwellers ahead of the Eid to bring discipline and quicken disposal of leftovers of slaughtered cattle. The corporations target to remove waste from the capital within 48 hours from Eid day noon.

DNCC is distributing 2.8 lakh sacks expecting two lakh cattle to be sacrificed in the area, while DSCC is giving citizens one lakh sacks though it anticipates the number of sacrificial cattle in the area to be double of that number.

Asked about the rest of the people who will not get the bags for free, Captain Raquib Uddin, chief waste management officer at DSCC, told reporters that people will be able to buy these sacks at Tk 30 per piece.

“It’s an awareness building initiative. I believe people who have the ability to spend Tk 30,000 after cattle have also the ability to buy a bag at Tk 30.”

It is customary for people to sacrifice animals in any open area in front of their houses or on the roads and alleys, leaving smelly piles of animal parts lying around on the roads. In addition to risk of diseases it also lowers the quality of life.

Chief Estate Officer of DNCC Aminul Islam said people would have to butcher animals at the selected places. Though there are 271 spots so far, he said, the number might go up before Eid if necessary.

Aminul said people would have to keep the waste and leftovers in particular bags and the DNCC garbage management workers would collect those from the spots.

Imams and other relevant persons would be on hand to help with the slaughters, but people would have to bring their own butchers and necessary meat processing tools, he said.

DNCC Superintendent Engineer (garbage management department) Mesbahul Karim said 3,500 garbage management workers would work during Eid days and 350 additional labourers would clean all the makeshift cattle markets in the areas.

He said 22 dump trucks, eight pay-loaders, three tire loaders, seven water tankers, three excavators and four bulldozers would be used to clean cattle markets and slaughtering grounds.

Capt Raquib Uddin said they would set up four sheds in each of its 57 wards so that people could take shelter there if it rains on the Eid day.

A central coordination committee and ward-based committees involving ward councillors would be formed for better waste management, he said.

He said they would also provide 341 drums of bleaching powder at the slaughter grounds and the cattle markets to reduce and remove malodour.

They would also spray water with antiseptic on narrow lanes and by-lanes in every ward.

There will also be a complaint section at DSCC’s website where city dwellers can lodge complaints about cattle waste management. Local inspectors will receive the messages, said Khan Mohammad Belal, chief executive officer (CEO) of DSCC.

The complainants will be receiving updates through messages, he further said, adding that the city dwellers are requested to slaughter cattle at the designated spots.