Bakrid celebrated across city

HYDERABAD: An air of piety engulfed the Old City, on Tuesday as Eid-ul-Adha, popularly known as Bakrid, was celebrated with much fervour. With the devout pouring into mosques and eidgahs in and around the city at the crack of dawn, largely in traditional attire.
Eidgahs like those in Mir Alam and Madannapet in the Old City and Hockey Ground in Vijaynagar Colony, near Masab Tank, saw lakhs of worshippers congregating for the special Eid prayers.
The holy day which is also known as the 'Feast of Sacrifice', symbolises Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son's life as a testament to the strength of his faith. It is distinct from Eid-al-Fitr, or 'the Lesser Eid' which marks the end of Ramadan.
On Tuesday, the streets around Makkah Masjid were teeming with people greeting each other and wishing 'Eid Mubarak' or a blessed Eid. Many believers began their day with morning prayers, followed by spending time with relatives, neighbours and friends. Some worshippers slaughtered an animal such as a sheep or goat to echo Ibrahim's sacrifice.
However, breaking away from tradition, a sizeable chunk of the devout donated the meat to the poor and needy. "Usually once the goat is sacrificed, the meat is distributed amongst our near and dear ones. But, this year we thought of giving the meat to some one who actually needed it," said Syed Faraz, a resident of Tolichowki.
In a bid to ensure that the festival passed off in a clean manner, officials of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) distributed 1.3 lakh polythene covers, in the south zone, so that people could dump the animal viscera. Not just the civic body set up 35 check-posts, to keep a check on cross-border transport of animals. "We stationed veterinary officers at these check posts to keep a check on people transporting unhealthy animals," he said.
Even residents were all praises for the GHMC's move to supply plastic covers for animal waste. "Last year there was a lot of animal waste strewn along the roads. But this time, people began dumping the animal waste into the polythene bags for disposal," said O Prasad, a resident of Chawani. As of 5.30 pm the civic officials lifted 169.5 metric tonnes of animal waste.