The authorities concerned have been instructed to remove the waste of animals sacrificed during the coming Eid-ul-Azha before sunrise the following day, Local Government Minister Md Tajul Islam said. He added that this year, too, animals must be sacrificed at designated places.

He told journalists this after a meeting in the conference room of the Local Government Division at the Secretariat on the afternoon of Thursday, 30 May.

The meeting was held to review overall preparations for managing cattle markets, making sure animals are sacrificed at designated places and handling sacrificial waste during Eid-ul-Azha. It was attended by Dhaka South City Corporation mayor Atiqul Islam, a representative of the South City Corporation, Zayeda Khatun of Gazipur City Corporation, and officials of various ministries and departments, according to the report.

The minister said the waste of sacrificed animals must be removed before sunrise on the day after sacrifice, and if possible the work should be finished overnight. Sacrifices will begin at 8am on Eid day. "In the past 24 hours were allowed, but this time we have fixed it. The waste must be removed before the sun comes up. After that I do not want to see waste anywhere," he said.

If any waste still remains after that, it will not pollute the environment, he said, adding that he believed the two city corporations would succeed. Animals sacrificed afterwards must also be cleared, because sacrifices continue for several days after Eid, so closer attention is needed in the following days.

"I know you will finish before then. Even so, no waste should be seen anywhere after sunrise," he said. Some 25 lakh animals will be sacrificed in Dhaka city. In a task of this size, a little delay somewhere can be accepted, but no more than that. Small lapses by those who work sincerely during the Eid days can be accepted; they have worked through difficulties in the past too, and this happens all over the world, he said.

Asked whether the two city corporations would again set designated places for sacrifice this year, he said that in the past they had done so through community arrangements, especially during the coronavirus period. This time, some areas will sacrifice animals at designated places through community arrangements and will also clean up, and that decision has been given.

Asked whether counterfeit note detection machines would be at every cattle market in the country, he said the machines are mobile, so they will be available everywhere.

Asked whether the meeting discussed how far earlier pre-Eid decisions had been carried out, and why if not, he said the two city corporations had successfully implemented every decision so far. "We asked for waste to be removed within 24 hours, and they have done so in previous years. There is no instance of failure here, and no such news has come out," he said.

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