Only within a couple of days of the Eid-ul-Azha celebrations, most of the waste products from the sacrificial cattle have been cleaned up by authorities concerned at the two Dhaka City Corporations, who had earlier set a 48-hour deadline for themselves to clean up the city streets.
However, some city residents claimed that waste products allegedly remained untouched in narrow alleys and dustbins, resulting in pollution and stench in the areas.
The city corporation authorities’ efforts were praised by many who claimed that the clean-up process was comparatively efficient than previous years.
“I found the nearby roads as clean as any other day today [Wednesday] during my morning walk,” said Banani resident Syed Zaman. He also praised the city corporations’ efforts, claiming that the post-Eid cleaning process had been improving each year.
This year, for a 48-hour special drive that started from 2pm of Eid day, the two city corporations deployed around 17,000 staff to clean the wastes of sacrificial animals.
“With the cooperation of the city dwellers, we have cleared the garbage before our declared deadline,” said Bipan Kumar Saha, chief waste management officer of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC).
The cleaning work had been carried out more efficiently than the previous years, Bipan claimed, adding that the smell of blood and other waste products was absent this year because of a special anti-bacterial spray that had been used during the drive.
However, some city residents claimed that stench was still coming out off waste containers in their areas.
Abdul Jalil, a resident of Hazaribagh, claimed that the city corporations cleaned only the main roads and roadside areas, but ignored the waste containers that were loaded with sacrificial animal garbage.
Regarding the allegations, Bipan admitted that some of the narrow alleys might not have been cleaned on time, but added that it would be taken care of as soon as possible.
He added that both city corporations had finished the special cleaning drive by the deadline that ended at 2pm yesterday.
City authorities, on the other hand, blamed Dhaka residents living in narrow lanes for not responding to the city corporations’ calls for cleaning up after themselves.
Bipan said advertisements were broadcast and published in nine TV channels and five newspapers to create awareness on the issue, but a large number of city residents living in narrow lanes did not pay heed to the advice.
Asked why trucks without roofs were used to carry garbage during the drive, he said such trucks had to be used because of the lack of proper covered vehicles. The waste that had been spilled from the open-roof trucks had later been cleaned with bleaching powder and water, he claimed.