On the day following Eid-ul-Azha, animal waste was found scattered across various areas of Dhaka, contradicting the claims of both the Dhaka North and South City Corporations, who had publicly announced that “100% of the waste had been removed” by Saturday night.
LGRD Adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain, who has been under severe criticism for corruption and nepotism, on Sunday morning claimed that the government had removed 100% of waste from 487 wards under 12 city corporations.
However, ground reports by the daily Prothom Alo reporters revealed a very different reality.
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Waste piles were visible in Agargaon, Porishonkhyan Road (near the Statistics Bureau), adjacent to the Science Museum, Modhyo Pirerbagh, Kamal Sarani (60-Feet Road), Moddho Monipur, West Agargaon, Kalshi, Journalistsโ Residential Area, Mirpur-11 (Block C, Avenue 5), Paris Road Market, Benarasi Palli, Shewrapara, Dhanmondi 8, Abahani Field area, near Kolabagan Shishu Park STS, Hazaribaghโs Moneshwar Road, in front of Moneshwar Government Primary School, and beside Azimpur Graveyard in the New Paltan Line area.
In many places, polythene bags provided by the city corporations were seen lying on the streets. Some containers were overflowing. Local residents stated that city corporation vehicles did not arrive in many areas after the afternoon, while in some places, waste collectors worked briefly at night and then leftโno one came back in the morning.
This situation clearly exposed the city corporationsโ claim of โ100% waste removalโ by Saturday night as a blatant lie.
The dissemination of such โinstitutional success storiesโ only serves to mislead the public, while in reality, the city remains dirty and under serious environmental and public health risks, activists say.
The stench is forcing pedestrians to walk with their noses covered, traffic is disrupted, and general hygiene is severely compromised. This failure reflects not only the inefficiency of the city corporations but also the government’s lack of effective oversight and accountability.
In the face of criticisms, the DNCC on Sunday claimed that its sanitation workers had deposited sacrificial waste on the streets and at STS (Secondary Waste Transfer Station) to be taken to the landfill (permanent waste transfer station).
The waste deposited in the morning was used to publish news in various media outlets that the waste was not 100% removed before being taken to the landfill.
On Sunday, the DNCC said that the removal process had not been completed. “The cleaning activities will continue today and tomorrow. The city residents sacrifice animals until the third day of Eid, which is why waste is constantly generated in the city. At the same time, the cleaning activities continue. More than 10,000 DNCC employees are involved in this activity and are conducting waste removal activities.”
DNCC Administrator Mohammad Ejaz, a notorious militant leader who was appointed based on a recommendation by LGRD Adviser Asif Mahmud, expressed his determination to gift the city residents a clean and beautiful city.
However, Prothom Alo says its reporters conducted a field visit from 6:30am to 8:30am on Sunday and discovered sacrificial waste piled up on the streets in different areas of the two city corporations.
โThis waste is rotting and emitting a foul smell. A report titled ‘Demand for 100% waste removal at night, different picture in Dhaka in the morning’ was published online by Prothom Alo this afternoon,โ the newspaper said.
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