Green activists on Tuesday demanded proper management of wastes which would be generated from sacrificial animals during Eid-ul-Azha.
The traditional makeshift cattle market system, unhygienic method of removing hides from slaughtered cattle and dumping wastes here and there cause serious environment pollution all over the country, said speakers at a discussion.
Paribesh Bachao Andolan organised the discussion on ‘alternative suggestion for better waste management during Eid’ at Dhaka Reporters Unity.
Chairman of the organisation Abu Naser Khan said Eid-ul-Azha was only a few days away and on the occasion millions of cattle heads would be slaughtered across the country.
He said that if migration from village to the urban areas continued at the current rate, by the next 15-20 years 2.5 crore cattle heads would be brought to the capital and minimum 2 crore of them would be slaughtered.
The environmentalists called on the people to think other ways and shun the traditional system of slaughtering animals.
Naser said considering population, economy and environment, people need to think like Saudi Arabia for a better management of wastes from sacrificial animals.
He urged Islamic Foundation, Dhaka South City Corporation, Dhaka North City Corporation and local government and rural development ministry to play an important role in taking necessary initiative in this regard.
General secretary of the organisation Kamal Pasha Chowdhury said that the huge number of cattle would cause tremendous pressure on roads and highways and home-bound people would suffer immensely.
The makeshift cattle market and cow dung would pollute the environment, cattle feed would occupy open spaces and cleaning the wastes would cause indiscriminate use of water in the capital.
He said in the traditional way, if cattle heads are slaughtered on a house premises or roadside drains, blood and cow dung block the drain for some days, causing bad odour and spread of diseases.
Sometimes people use excess bleaching powder which ultimately goes into the nearby water bodies that would also threaten for biodiversity, said Kamal Pasha.
He said in the Middle East animals are not allowed to be slaughtered here and there for which they get meat of better standard.
Joint secretary of the organisation Hafizur Rahman Moyna and secretary Md Abdus sobhan also spoke at the discussion.
-With New Age input
