Dhaka received heavy rain through Tuesday as its citizens went to say their Eid prayers in the morning and sacrificed their animals. However, as rainwater built up on the streets and flooded many parts of Bangladesh’s capital, it mixed with the blood to create an unusual and gory scene: it appeared as though red rivers were running across the city.

Citizens have strongly criticised the two city corporations in charge of cleaning the sacrificial waste for the situation. Many said the incident showed how the city corporations had failed to keep the city’s drainage systems functional and had paid no attention to the matter before Eid.

Dhaka citizens uploaded pictures of the scene on Facebook.

The two city corporations had designated 1,000 spots – 496 in the north and 504 in the south – for slaughtering animals. However from around 7.30 am, many people were seen slaughtering animals in the streets wherever it was convenient. The roads soon filled up with blood and waste.

“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,” said Tareq Ahmed, a resident of the Shyamoli locality.

Rainwater mixes with blood from animal sacrifice in Malibagh, Dhaka. Photo: Dhaka Tribune

Khandker Millatul Islam, Dhaka South City Corporation’s deputy chief of waste management, said that water logging in the capital was an old problem. “We are still working to solve this issue. We have already ordered Maniknagar Wasa pump to start working, so we are hoping that very soon the water-logging problem will be solved."

Residents said they did not know the designated spots for animal slaughter, so they performed the rites where it was convenient. Photo: Facebook/Dhaka Tribune

This article first appeared on the Dhaka Tribune website.