Dhaka’s 2 city corporations fail to clear all qurbani waste within 12 hrs as promised

The government had announced that qurbani waste from Eid-ul-Azha would be removed within 12 hours. Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) had even set a target of clearing the waste within eight hours, while Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) said the work would be completed ahead of the stipulated deadline.

However, even after the deadline had passed, waste from sacrificed animals was still seen lying in different areas of the capital today, Friday morning, the day after Eid.

Visiting several areas of the city between 6:00 am and 8:30 am today it was found that waste from sacrificed animals had not yet been removed from many places. In some areas, waste had piled up in heaps, while in others animal remains were scattered around. Foul odours were also noticeable in some places.

To ensure the swift removal of sacrificial waste this year, the Dhaka North and South city corporations officially launched their cleaning drives yesterday, Thursday afternoon, on Eid day.

DSCC Administrator Abdus Salam had announced that the waste would be cleared within eight hours of the operation beginning. Meanwhile, DNCC Administrator Md Shafiqul Islam Khan said the work would be completed before the government’s 12-hour deadline.

However, during in-person visit this morning sacrificial waste was still found lying in 29 locations across the two city corporation areas. Of these, 18 were in DNCC areas and 11 in DSCC areas. In addition, straw mats used for cutting meat, hay and bran brought as animal feed, and other sacrificial remnants were also seen scattered in various places.

Areas under Dhaka North City Corporation where sacrificial waste was found included Road No. 2 of the Mirpur-11 Journalists’ Residential Area, the road on the western side of the journalists’ residential area, the road in front of Udayan School and College in Mirpur 10/D, the area in front of Senpara Parbata Govt Primary School, the front of Central Plaza adjacent to Mirpur-10 roundabout, the East Monipur area on Begum Rokeya Sarani, Shahjadpur Lakeview Road, Roads 51, 54, 94 and 104 in Gulshan, Road 23/A in Banani, Road 4 in Banani A Block, Avenue 2 of Line 19 in Mirpur-11, Avenue 3 of Line 21, and three locations on Road 7 of D Block in Mirpur-11.

Areas under Dhaka South City Corporation where waste was found included the road beside Popular Medical College in Dhanmondi, in front of Haque Mansion in Jigatala, in front of the Institute of Leather Technology at Dhaka University, Hazaribagh Maneshwar Road, the Ganaktuli City Colony area, Banalata kitchen market adjacent to BGB Gate No. 1, Noor Fatah Lane in Chawkbazar, Orphanage Road in Bakshibazar, Bakshibazar City Corporation Market, the Bangladesh ground on Aga Sadek Road, and Kazi Alauddin Road in Nazira Bazar.

During on-the-spot visit, animal tails, hooves, partial hides, gums, horns, stomach waste and skulls were found scattered in many places. In some areas, there were also pools of animal blood.

At a press conference held at the Nagar Bhaban at 9:00 pm on Thursday, DSCC Administrator Abdus Salam claimed that the removal of sacrificial waste was progressing successfully. He said nearly 13,000 tonnes of waste had been removed by 8:30 pm.

According to him, 71 of the 75 wards under the south city had been made completely waste-free, while around 90 per cent of waste had been removed from the remaining four wards — 8, 11, 18 and 53.

However, the areas where sacrificial waste was found this morning fall under Wards 14, 22, 27, 35 and 37 of the south city. These wards had been declared completely waste-free the previous night.