The streets of Dhaka, Bangladesh have turned into 'rivers of blood' after floodwaters absorbed the bloody effluent from animal sacrifices marking the Islamic celebration of Eid al-Adha.
Thousands of sheep, goats and cows are slaughtered as part of the annual Muslim holiday marking the end of Dhu al-Hiijah and their meat is traditionally distributed to the poor. However, heavy rain on Tuesday, combined with the city’s poor drainage, has resulted in highly unsanitary conditions.
Images and videos shared online show the shocking scene as residents try to get on with their day-to-day lives despite the bloodied waters around them.
The conditions didn’t stop people from attending mosque and continuing with the sacrifices, according to India Today.
Khandker Millatul Islam, deputy chief waste management official from Dhaka South City Corporation, said that waterlogging has been a problem for a long time and that the corporation was working to resolve the issue.
Citizens have criticized the clean-up efforts of the two city corporations. The agencies in turn accuse residents of using areas close to their homes for sacrifices instead of the locations designated for the religious activity.
The two city corporations designated 1,000 areas – 496 in the north and 504 in the south – for slaughtering animals. However, locals say they were not aware of the selected sacrifice sites as there was not enough done prior to the festival to spread awareness.
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“Last year the city corporations launched a mass campaign to encourage people to use the designated spots and that caught our eyes. I went to a spot in Mohammadpur last year, but this year, I don’t even know where the spots actually are,” one resident told The Dhaka Tribune.
Other people pointed out that the chosen spots were too far from their homes.
Eid celebrations began Monday and continue until Thursday. The religious festival is also known as the Feast of Sacrifice and commemorates the Prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son to Allah.