Battered by the Covid-19 pandemic, urban Pakistan is bracing itself for new challenges resulting from hiccups in the healthcare and governance systems. Coronavirus appears to have affected every aspect of life including Eid festivities. This time round Eid ul Azha will be very different from the way it has traditionally been celebrated.

The local government system has already been out of action for some time. Replaced by a number of stopgap arrangements, it now relies on bureaucracy and lacks people-to-people contact and harmony. “Previously, before Eid ul Azha, we used to have meetings with people. Strategies with regard to sale points of sacrificial animals and cleanliness would be hammered out according to their convenience,” says Manzoor Hussain, a former union council nazim. Commissioners are at the helm of affairs now, and they typically impose an Eid Order. There is no input from the citizens

The promulgation of the Punjab Local Government Act 2019 and the Punjab Village Panchayats and Neighbourhood Councils Act 2019 has led to tensions among civic institutions including the Lahore Development Authority (LDA), the Metropolitan Corporation of Lahore (MCL), the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA), the Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC), and the Lahore Division Cattle Market Management Company (LDCMMC). All this has led to poor preparations ahead of Eid.

Senator Mushahid Ullah says that particularly at a time when people need sound planning, the civic institutions are at odds with one another.

As Eid draws closer, the government has come up with an Eid ul Azha cleanliness contingency plan amid propects of heavy rains and the threat of a dengue outbreak.

The Livestock, Health and Environment Departments, the MCL and the LWMC have designated teams to ensure sanitation and disinfection at more than 700 cattle markets established in accordance with the new SOPs designed for a safe Eid.

Daily fogging for the dengue carrying mosquito and Congo-virus carrying tics has been made mandatory at the cattle markets set up at Ring Road near Lakhodair Sabzi Mandi, LDA City, Old Kahna, Pine Avenue Road, Fruit and Vegetable Market at Kahna Kacha, N-Block DHA Phase 9, Ring Road office at Kahna Kacha, Hazrat Ali Road at Saggian, Shahpur Kanjran on Multan Road, NFC Society, Manga Mandi, Raiwind near Haveli Markaz and Hazrat Usman Ghani Road at Saggian.

Heavy rains can complicate the sanitation issues at cattle markets. “Rain makes it harder to keep sacrificial animals clean. Since the ground is unpaved, sellers and buyers have to place bricks on muddy pathways to be able to walk around in the markets,” says a goat seller at Shahpur Kanjran cattle market.

Asad Bin Zafar, a spokesperson for the Lahore Division Cattle Market Management Company (LDCMMC), says that water tanks with soap and sanitisers have been installed at entry points of all cattle markets. While they are providing free masks, he says, they are also letting private vendors sell masks. He regrets that while people don masks at entrances, some of them take those off later. “When they are cautioned, they come up with a litany of excuses. Some of them also strike a defiant note,” he says.

To allow for more physical distance, the space earlier allocated for 20,000 cattle will now accommodate only 10,000. The animals will be kept at least six feet apart from one another. Temporary disposal pumps have also been provided. Zafar says that the government has activated an app for online sale of sacrificial animals. “It will help ward off spread of Covid-19 by keeping some of the buyers to their homes.”

The Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) has also put forth a solid waste management plan for Eid ul Azha. There is to be a ‘zero waste’ operation, manual sweeping, offal collection and waste transportation and disposal. Special services will be available to private housing societies, Pakistan Railways and cantonments boards. 293 UC-based camps will be established. Special arrangements for public complaints, distribution of bags and leaflets and coordination with control room will be available for three days of sacrifice. The LWMC will establish 119 animal waste collection points besides temporarily covering waste storage containers set up along main roads.

Jameel Khawar, the LWMC spokesperson, says that cleanliness operations will be conducted at main commercial markets, graveyards, mosques, and Eidgahs. Around 1.84 million plastic bags will be distributed, he says, adding that they will ensure the availability of these bags at zonal offices, Eidgahs and cattle markets besides delivering them at people’s doorsteps.

The Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) has separate operation and maintenance plans for the Lahore eight towns. The plans include de-silting of all sewers and drains to eliminate the chances of flooding during Eid holidays, ensuring availability of operational machinery and checking and repairing of manholes.

Syed Zahid Aziz, the WASA managing director, says uninterrupted water supply will be ensured and water bowsers will be kept ready to meet any additional requirements.

The writer is a freelance journalist working for various national and international media  organisations. He tweets @yaseerkhann