A clean Eid

As Eidul Azha approaches there is a high demand for sacrificial animals and temporary animal markets are being set up across the country. Given that people come in close contact with animals and each other at these markets, there is a risk of spreading disease if the animals are not healthy. Therefore, the government must take the necessary steps to ensure that the animals being traded across the country, whether imported or local, are free of disease.

Special teams comprising veterinary doctors and technicians should inspect the animal markets to ensure that this festive and blessed occasion does not become a source of spreading disease and illness. Also, the health ministries, federal and provincial, must ensure that animals are slaughtered at designated places where a proper system is in place to remove the remains of the slaughtered animals. The lack of such a system not only leads to an unbearable stench of rotting remains but can also spread disease and contaminate water. We as individuals and as a society must also be mindful of our responsibility to take care in fulfilling our religious obligations. We must follow strict precautionary hygiene measures and refrain from slaughtering animals and disposing their remains out in the open.

Raja Shafaatullah

Islamabad