Fact Check: Old images of red water pool in Dhaka resurface on Bakrid
Photos showing streets with red water flowing were shared on social media. Users claimed that the photos depicted the aftermath of Bakrid sacrifices in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka.
By Sibahathulla Sakib Published on 20 Jun 2024 6:27 AM GMT
Claim: Blood pools on the roads of Dhaka after Bakrid sacrifices.
Fact: The photos are 8 years old and misleading.
Hyderabad: Eid al-Adha, also known as Bakrid, a significant Muslim festival involving the sacrifice of animals, was recently observed worldwide. In this context, photos showing streets with red water flowing were shared on social media, with users claiming they depicted the aftermath of Bakrid sacrifices in Dhaka, Bangladesh's capital.
A Facebook user shared these photos with the caption, "This is what the roads of Dhaka, Bangladesh look like after the Bakra Eid celebration... More than 3 crore cows and countless other animals like goats, camels, buffaloes, and goats are killed on the cruelest day on earth called Bakrid. This is the most inhumane day of hatred that increases soil and water pollution and global warming. #Bakrid” (Translated from Hindi). ( Archive )
A similar post can be seen here. ( Archive )
Fact Check:
Newsmeter found that this claim is misleading.
A reverse image search traced the photos back to a 2016 post by Edward Rees, captioned, “A bit of rain and Eid and the roads run red with blood. #Dhaka #Bangladesh.”
A keyword search led to a report by ‘The Observers - France 24’ titled “Why ‘rivers of blood’ flowed through Bangladesh’s capital” published on 16/09/2016.
The report explained that heavy rain on the day of Eid al-Adha caused blood from animal sacrifices to mix with rainwater, flooding the streets of Dhaka with red water.
Approximately 15 million people live in Dhaka, a city that is 90% Muslim. Local authorities designated about 1,000 sites for animal sacrifices to manage the aftermath, but many residents were unaware or found these sites too far from their homes. Consequently, sacrifices were performed in various locations, leading to the widespread blood seen in the photos.
We also found similar reports published in BBC and The Guardian.
Eid al-Adha is a significant Muslim celebration where families traditionally sacrifice an animal, usually a sheep, to commemorate the prophet Abraham. In Dhaka, heavy rain on the day of Eid caused streets to flood, creating red rivers from the sacrifices conducted the previous night.
The photos circulating online are from an incident that occurred 8 years ago and are not related to recent events. Hence, the claim that these pictures are from the latest Eid celebration is misleading.
