Blood-soaked streets on the day of the second biggest religious festival of Muslims is nothing new for Dhaka residents who participate in the annual ritual of sacrificing animals after the Eid prayers.
This year, however, incessant rain for nearly a day and a half resulted in “rivers of blood” in Dhaka as the rainwater mixed with the animal blood completely submerged streets in the city's Malibagh, Shantinagar, Bijoynagar, Paltan, Motijheel, Jatrabari, Bakshi Bazar and Kanthalbagan areas.
The waterlog lasted for nearly 10 hours on the Eid day, which means thousands of people came into the contact with the dirty water, raising the concern among the health experts.
They fear that contact with the water may put people in danger of developing skin diseases, and it could also result in an outbreak of waterborne diseases.
“Blood is usually sterile, unless it carries any viral or bacterial infection. But when it gets mixed with water, it becomes contaminated. So animal blood mixed with rainwater in the city streets is definitely a cause of concern. It could spread any kind of waterborne diseases, including diarrhoea, cholera, hepatitis, etc,” said Dr Khaled Noor, paediatrician and former professor at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Medical University (BSMMU).
Children are most vulnerable of falling ill in this situation, he added.
Echoing Khaled, Dr Riad Siddiky, consultant on skin and venereal diseases at the BSSMU, said skin diseases are usually on the rise in Dhaka after Eid-ul-Azha.
“This year, it may be worse people were exposed to stagnant water mixed with sacrificial animal blood for several hours,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.
However, people who live on the outskirts of the city where water flows into different canals and culvert are at bigger health risk as the bloody water would get enough time to become riddled with contagious diseases.
Not using the designated slaughtering spots is a major reason behind this situation on Eid day, experts claimed.
More than a million of animals – mostly cows and goats – were slaughtered this Eid, according to a rough estimate.
To avoid slaughter in random spots and keep the city clean, city authorities designated 1,000 slaughter spots – 496 in Dhaka North and 504 in Dhaka South – for Eid-ul-Azha this year.
However, most of the city dwellers preferred slaughtering their animals on the streets and in front of their houses, ignoring the city authorities' request to keep the city clean.
Thursday, June 04, 2026
