Sacrificial animal waste can be removed even better this time, Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh has said. He said the DSCC now had far more capacity in terms of vehicles and equipment than at any time before.

Taposh said the vehicles and equipment used to clear waste from cattle markets and sacrificed animals had some weaknesses in the past, but the corporation was now fully capable. From its own funds it has already added 25 dump trucks of 10-tonne capacity and 10 payloaders for waste removal, and another 15 dump trucks are being added. "So our fleet of vehicles and equipment is now very rich," he said.

He gave this information while speaking to the media on 12 June at 10am after inspecting preparations for the main Eid-ul-Azha congregation at the National Eidgah.

"We hope that we can complete this work even better and more smoothly than last time, when we were able to serve Dhaka's residents and carry out a huge operation," he said.

Taposh said separate programmes had been drawn up this year for the cattle markets and for the waste of animals slaughtered for Eid. "We hope the markets will run smoothly and everyone will be able to buy animals without trouble. No one will face any hassle. This time, alongside the central control room, a separate control room is being set up at every market. So if there is a problem anywhere, inform the market's control room or the central control room and we will act immediately."

He added that the corporation reviews each year's experience and reshapes its work plan accordingly. This year it has deployed separate staff, officials and vehicles for the markets, and separate staff, vehicles and management for removing the waste of slaughtered animals.

Answering a journalist's question, Taposh said the target, as last year, was to remove sacrificial waste within 24 hours. Waste produced on Eid day will be removed within 24 hours, and waste produced the next day will also be removed within 24 hours. Since the number of animals, the size of the markets and sales fall from the night before Eid, the corporation will start clearing market waste from that night.

The mayor said the main Eid congregation would be held at 7:30am and urged Dhaka's residents to join it at the National Eidgah with their families, and wished them Eid greetings in advance. He said about 35,000 worshippers could pray inside the pandal at the National Eidgah, and that all preparations were in place to hold the main congregation even if it rained.

Among those present during the inspection were the corporation's Chief Executive Officer Md Mizanur Rahman, Secretary Akramuzzaman, Acting Chief Engineer Ashikur Rahman, Chief Waste Management Officer Mohammad Nasim Ahmed, Zone-1 Regional Executive Officer Md Shafiqul Islam, Chief Health Officer Dr Fazle Shamsul Kabir, Ward 16 councillor Mohammad Nazrul Islam and Ward 20 councillor Farid Uddin Ahmed Ratan.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.