Don’t dump remains in the bushes, plead city officials

Trenches have been dug near Mehmoodabad Naddi and Malir river for the waste.

KARACHI: When deciding on where to discard the offal of sacrificed animals, people should consider the fact that deadly diseases can spread if this is not done properly.

An expert at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Dr Seemin Jamali, told The Express Tribune that people usually throw away the offal near their homes without thinking about the associated health risks. “Animals such as rats, vultures, cats and dogs feed on the waste and make the disposal site a breeding ground for a multitude of diseases. People should think twice before throwing entrails outside their houses,” she warned.

Dr Jamali also expressed concern over the spread of hundreds of makeshift animal markets in the city that not only create pollution, but also cause the spread of the Congo virus. “The Congo virus is extremely deadly and the death rate for the disease is quite high,” she said. “People should adopt caution around animals with ticks, which are the vectors for this virus. Butchers also need to have an eye out for diseased animals.”

A sanitary inspector with the Karachi Cantonment Board, Mazhar Hussain, said that the organisation will collect waste generated on Eidul Azha in its jurisdiction and dispose it in trenches made near the Mehmoodabad Naddi. “Sometimes people do not cooperate with us and throw the waste in bushes in empty plots where our workers cannot find it.” Hussain said the people must realise that it is best to deal with the waste immediately after the sacrifice. “If you allow the entrails to decay, various types of worms, flies and diseases can spread in the neighbourhood.”

A sanitary inspector at Faisal Cantonment Board, Khalid Muhammad, said that thousands of animals would be sacrificed during Eid and inspectors like him have the unenviable job of cleaning the streets with limited resources. He urged the public to cooperate with them and not hide the waste by throwing it in bushes in vacant plots. “Nobody makes money out of offal,” he quipped. Muhammad said that the waste will be discarded in trenches near the Malir river and even though he has just 34 vehicles, a plan has been chalked out to carry out door-to-door collection.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 7^th,  2011.