At first, the plan for slaughtering at fixed places sounded really good, because stench from decomposing remains of sacrificial animals and the massive waste have always been major problems during and after Eid-ul-Azha every year.
Initially, the two city corporation authorities of Dhaka seemed very enthusiastic about the plan; but as the Eid progressed, their lack of preparation and coordination became evident.
Eventually, the plan failed almost entirely, with only a handful of people opting to take their animals to the spots fixed by the city authorities for their respective areas, only to prove Dhaka Tribune’s fears true that “Slaughtering spot plan may turn out useless” – the headline of a story published two days before Eid.
Even the two mayors of Dhaka – Annisul Huque in the north and Sayeed Khokon in the south – had their cattle slaughtered within the premises of their residences, instead of going to the places designated by their very own offices.
The Dhaka North and South City Corporations (DNCC and DSCC) wanted to execute the plan using the local ward councillors, who had been asked to coordinate and monitor the publicity activities before Eid to make sure that everyone took their sacrificial animals to the more than 500 places fixed for slaughtering.
Many ward councillors followed what their city bosses did by not going to the designated spots.
The DNCC and DSCC authorities’ assurance about ensuring water supply and waste management and the presence of enough cleaners, butchers and Imams failed to encourage people to go these designated slaughtering spots.
Saiful Islam, a resident of Dhaka’s Nayapaltan, had his cattle slaughtered in front of his residence although the DSCC-designated place was just a five-minute walk away.
“I have my own water supply, butcher, Imam and cleaner. I do not know whether I would have got these near at hand if I went there. Moreover, because the place is far from my house, carrying all the meat was going to be difficult,” Saiful said when asked why did not go to the place designated for their area.
On Friday – that is the Eid day – this correspondent saw Salauddin Ahmed Dhali, the councillor of ward number 17 in Kalabagan area of Dhaka south having his cattle slaughtered in the street in front of his residence.
In the adjacent Rajabazar area in Shukrabad, Faridur Rahman Khan Iran, councillor of ward number 27, also had his cattle slaughtered in the street in front of his residence.
Neither Dhali, president of the Kalabagan unit of ruling Awami League, nor Iran, a former leader of Chhatra League, wanted to talk to this correspondent about this.
Many residents of these two areas said that on the eve of Eid, local leaders and supporters of the ruling party could be seen doing publicity, asking people to use the designated spots instead of doing the sacrificial work in the streets of the locality.
When contacted, General Secretary of Kalabagan unit Awami League Mahbub Hossain, who did publicity the night before, told the Dhaka Tribune: “The city corporation just fixed the spots but never said going there is mandatory. You can go there if you are sacrificing an animal, or you may also do it in the street.”
The initial enthusiasm of the two mayors and the city corporation officials started to die out as the Eid approached. Apparently sensing that their plan might not work out, they softened their tone saying this was just the beginning a good plan and they hope to see better implementation and participation in the coming years.
Yesterday, during the post-Eid press conference, Dhaka south Mayor Sayeed Khokon mostly talked about how successful they had been in removing the waste from the streets of roads of Dhaka.
In a separate press conference, Annisul Huque, the mayor in the north, admitted that their plan did not work out.
“On Eid day, I visited several areas. It is true that most people did not go to the places that the city corporation has designated for them. But they are now more aware. They dumped waste at the right places. That is why, we have been able to clean all the waste within just 27 hours, way ahead of our 36-hour pledge,” Annisul told reporters.
