LAHORE: Around 89,000 tonnes of sacrificial animals’ offal was collected and disposed of at various designated dumping sites during three-day Eid cleanliness operation in Lahore and its three neighbouring districts, claim officials.

The collection and disposal of such a huge quantity of animals’ waste, in addition to the routine solid waste during Eid days broke all previous records, claims a senior official. The official termed this year’s Eidul Azha cleanliness operation the best in over a decade, saying: “In general, the Eid operation in Lahore division in particular and all other districts in the province in general was launched under “Suthra Punjab” programme being run by the waste management companies”.

He said that during the uninterrupted 72-hour long operation 88,927 tons of animal waste was collected and disposed in Lahore, Kasur, Sheikhupura and Nankana Sahib districts.

Giving a break down, he said the field teams removed 54,888 tons of waste from Lahore, 15,543 tons from Sheikhupura, 12,066 tons from Kasur, and 6,430 tons from Nankana Sahib during the operation, showing exceptional preparedness and coordination.

Around 1.8m sacrificial animals sold in Punjab

He said during the three days of Eid, 20,268 complaints were promptly addressed in Lahore division. Citizens filed their complaints through 1139 helpline, Suthra Punjab app, and social media platforms. He added that 16,664 complaints from Lahore, 1,974 from Sheikhupura, 1,268 from Kasur, and 362 from Nankana Sahib were addressed.

To prevent illegal dumping of waste into streams, drains, and canal, the situation was monitored with the help of Punjab Safe Cities Authority cameras and drone cameras.

Enforcement wing took action, including the registration of 20 FIRs and seizure of three vehicles involved in illegal dumping. Meanwhile, total fines exceeding Rs300,000 were also imposed on violators.

For eco-friendly waste disposal, 2.4 million biodegradable bags were distributed throughout Lahore division. The clean-up infrastructure included 651 service delivery camps, 254 temporary collection points and 34 dumping sites. More than 24,000 staffers called ‘sanitary heroes’ worked in three shifts, using over 5,000 machines to ensure the success of the Suthra Punjab programme during Eid, the official said.

Meanwhile, the official sources estimate sale of as many as 1.8 million sacrificial animals across Punjab before and during Eid days at cattle markets and temporary sale points.

According to a document available with Dawn, till second day of Eid, over 1.147 million small and big animals (goats, sheep, bulls, cows, calves, camels etc) were sold at over 290 cattle markets alone.

Lahore division remained on the top with sale of 665,620 animals till the second day of Eid, followed by Bahawalpur division wherein 109,345 animals were sold. DG Khan division witnessed sale of 69,492 animals, followed by Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Multan, Rawalpindi, Sahiwal and Sargodha divisions that witnessed sale of 88,019, 10,008, 16,179, 46,264, 47,500 and 94,946 animals, respectively.

Published in Dawn, June 10th, 2025