For most, Eid-ul Azha might be an affair involving a careful selection of a cattle head, buying it at a good bargain, arranging its upkeep till Eid, hiring a butcher well in time and marinating the meat with a flurry of spices. For sanitary workers and the organisations that employ them, Eid means extra teams, machinery and work.

“For an eco-friendly Eid, we have to get the plan ready almost a month ago,” says Sahib Din, the Lahore Waste Management Company’s CEO.

“The operation is huge. It involves almost every street of the city where animals are being slaughtered during Eid. Our operation starts before Eid.”

Operation Grand Cleaning

The operation is complex given Lahore’s demography. The city of 13 million people has approximately two million households. The city is administratively divided into ten tehsils, nine towns and 274 union councils.

Given the selling trends at Lahore’s cattle markets, LWMC spokesperson Umer Chaudhry says, 70,000 to 80,000 animals are expected to be sacrificed this year.

“This results in a significant increase in both animal waste and solid waste,” he says. “This demands planning and meticulous execution.

“Every year in Lahore, on the occasion of Eid-ul Azha, a grand cleaning operation is carried out. Work on this operation starts well before Eid. Animals start arriving in the city, along with the fodder. There is also waste from animals. To dispose it of properly, cleaning teams are activated. Weekend holidays are cancelled. The performance of the staff is closely monitored,” he says.

Besides assuring cleanliness in the streets, households are given biodegradable bags to discard offal and other animal waste for safe disposal at designated dumps.

The primary objectives of the plan are to maintain zero-waste conditions citywide and to uphold public hygiene and environmental safety during Eid. The operational strategy involves a systematic Zero Waste Drive comprising four major steps. First, animal waste is collected using handcarts, mini dumpers, pickups and trolleys. Next, the waste is temporarily stored at 104 designated Eid collection points across the city. From there, the waste is transported using rental dumpers, excavators, trolleys and loaders. Finally, all the collected waste is transferred to five official dump sites for safe disposal.

A head start

For an eco-friendly Eid, sanitary workers start working from the eve of Eid.

“From the night before Eid, sanitary workers officially begin the operation. Since the animal markets start getting empty by then, those places are cleaned first. Eid prayer grounds are cleaned and washed as well,” he says.

“Our staff works in shifts to ensure cleanliness. First, they wash the areas, then sprinkle lime powder. This is done next to all mosques and Eidgahs and also at public places and commercial markets once they are closed at night. We clear these areas before the morning so that when people wake up, they find a fresh and pleasant environment,” he says.

On the ground

There are 15,000 sanitation staff members. Besides the sanitary workers, there are around 4,000 drivers, and 2,000-3,000 support staff. The staff works in three shifts. The field staff collects waste from every house.

“Earlier, we used to follow a container-based model. Now, more than 2,500 rickshaws have been added to the system. These are used to collect waste directly from each house.”

“The LWMC also ensures the collection of the remains of animals sacrificed. The staff goes door-to-door to collect this waste. To keep this process safe and environmentally friendly, 1.5 million biodegradable waste bags have been acquired. Citizens can collect these bags from our camps set up in animal markets in all union councils.”

At the dumps

“When citizens tie up the remains in these bags and hand them over to our teams, the waste is taken first to the closest of the 104 temporary collection points,” he says. Workers use rickshaws and pick-up vans to transport the waste to these points. “There, we have a large machinery setup, including big excavators and large containers that pick up the waste and take it to the designated dump sites.” These dump sites are located in Sundar, Mehmood Booti, Lakhodair, Tibba and Saggian.

At these locations, deep pits are dug beforehand. In these pits, the remains are placed in four-foot layers. These are wrapped in molasses and sewage pack materials. Afterwards, a one-foot layer of soil is placed on top. Another four-foot layer of remains follows and then another one-foot layer of soil. In the end, the pit is sealed with a final soil covering, so that the waste decomposes in a safe way.

81 collective sacrifice points have been authorised in the city. The LWMC has assigned special teams to supervise these. These are the places where most of the large animals are sacrificed.

“It is there that we place our washing teams. The collection of animal remains is also carried out at the same time. Specially assigned tractor trolleys are present to ensure the containment of filth and foul smell in the environment.”

At large mosques like the Jamia Naeemia, special arrangements are made to ensure thorough cleaning. First, the area is scoured with water, then it is washed again with a phenyl-water mix. At mosques and collective sacrificial spots, rose water is also sprayed to keep the air clean and fresh.

“On the third day of sacrifice, when most sacrifices have been done, we clean the roadside containers too. The containers are thoroughly washed to ensure that there is no residual waste,” says the LWMC spokesperson.

Ahsan Malik is a media veteran interested in politics, consumer rights and entrepreneurship