By Uzma Ehtasham
The Eid-ul-Azha cleanliness operation in Punjab, as reported by officials, offers a rare case study in how municipal governance can be made to work at scale when political will, planning and administrative coordination align in the same direction. In a context where public service delivery in many parts of Pakistan is routinely criticised for being reactive rather than prepared, the figures emerging from this year’s campaign stand out for both their ambition and execution.
According to official accounts linked to the Suthra Punjab initiative, more than 110,000 tonnes of animal waste and remains were collected and disposed of across the province during the first two days of Eid. Lahore alone accounted for more than 17,000 tonnes, underscoring the sheer density of urban demand placed on sanitation systems during the festival period. These are not marginal improvements at the edges of service delivery; they represent a full-scale logistical exercise conducted under time pressure, public scrutiny and significant environmental risk.
Eid-ul-Azha has long functioned as an annual stress test for municipal systems across Pakistan. The ritual sacrifice of animals generates vast quantities of waste within a compressed timeframe, overwhelming collection systems that are typically designed for routine, not exceptional, conditions. In many cities in past years, animal remains have been left in streets and vacant plots for extended periods, creating not only public discomfort but also genuine environmental and health hazards. The resulting stench, contamination risks and drainage blockages have often become emblematic of broader governance failures.
Against that backdrop, this year’s reported improvements in Punjab are being presented as evidence of a more proactive model of urban management. Authorities imposed restrictions under Section 144, including limits on the public disposal of animal waste. But more significantly, they appear to have combined enforcement with preparation. Temporary cattle markets were designated in advance, reducing the chaotic spread of livestock trading into residential areas, a recurring source of sanitation breakdowns in previous years. This kind of anticipatory planning is often the difference between systems that collapse under pressure and those that absorb it.
There are also indications that technology played a greater role in this year’s operation. Sanitation teams were reportedly active throughout the holiday period, and drone surveillance was used to monitor cleanliness efforts and identify areas requiring urgent attention. While the use of such tools may still be in its early stages, it reflects a broader shift in thinking: that urban management is no longer purely a question of manpower, but also of data, monitoring and rapid response coordination.
It would, however, be misleading to interpret these developments as a comprehensive solution to Pakistan’s long-standing municipal governance challenges. Temporary improvements during a high-profile festival do not automatically translate into sustained year-round reform. Waste management systems remain uneven, infrastructure gaps persist, and accountability mechanisms are still heavily dependent on political oversight rather than institutional strength. The real test is not whether a city can be cleaned during Eid, but whether it remains consistently clean in the months that follow.
Even so, the contrast with previous years is difficult to ignore. Eid-ul-Azha has too often exposed the fragility of urban governance structures, particularly in rapidly growing cities where population pressure outpaces administrative capacity. In that sense, the apparent relative success of this year’s campaign in Punjab is notable not because it represents perfection, but because it demonstrates what becomes possible when preparation replaces improvisation.
Comparisons have inevitably been drawn with other major urban centres in the country, particularly Karachi, where residents frequently express frustration over sanitation conditions during the same period. Such comparisons are often politically charged and can easily slide into competitive rhetoric between provincial administrations. Yet beneath the political framing lies a more substantive public concern: why do basic municipal services appear to function more effectively in some places than others?
That question deserves to be treated less as a matter of rivalry and more as a prompt for institutional learning. Citizens are rarely invested in inter-provincial scoring; their focus is on whether streets are clean, waste is collected efficiently, and public spaces remain liveable. When one region appears to deliver more effectively, even temporarily, it inevitably raises expectations elsewhere. In that sense, visible success creates pressure for replication, which can be a positive force if it leads to reform rather than resentment.
The broader lesson from Punjab’s Eid cleanliness operation lies in its emphasis on preparation, scale and coordination. It suggests that municipal systems do not necessarily fail because the challenges are unknown, but because they are not planned for with sufficient seriousness. Waste management during Eid is predictable; its demands are not surprising. What changes each year is not the nature of the challenge, but the quality of the response.
Still, caution is necessary. Public service delivery should not be measured only in moments of concentrated effort or political visibility. Sustainable governance is built on consistency, not campaigns. The risk with high-profile operations is that they create an impression of transformation without necessarily altering the underlying structural weaknesses that produce recurrent failures in the first place.
If there is a genuine opportunity in this experience, it lies in institutionalising the practices that appear to have worked: early planning, decentralised coordination, use of monitoring technology, and clear enforcement mechanisms paired with public communication. The challenge for any government is not simply to execute a successful operation once, but to embed its logic into everyday administration.
In that sense, Punjab’s Eid cleanliness drive should be viewed neither as a definitive success story nor as a symbolic exercise, but as a test case. It demonstrates that improvement is possible within existing constraints, but it also highlights how much remains dependent on leadership attention and temporary mobilisation. The real measure of progress will be whether such standards can survive beyond the extraordinary demands of Eid and become part of the ordinary rhythm of governance.
(The writer is a public health professional, journalist, and possesses expertise in health communication, having keen interest in national and international affairs, can be reached at uzma@metro-morning.com)
