Photos show 'rivers of blood' running through streets after Eid sacrifices

Blood from the sacrifices mixed with floodwater to turn roads red

Dhaka's underdeveloped drainage system could not cope with heavy rains that mixed with the blood spilling from the animals (AP)

The streets of Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital, were flooded with red during Eid al-Adha, as Muslims took to the streets to make animal sacrifices for the celebration.

Dhaka's underdeveloped drainage system could not cope with heavy rains. The floodwaters then mixed with blood spilling from animals slaughtered by some ten million residents.

Both awe and criticism has been provoked by the spectacle. Here are the photographs of the "rivers of blood":

Muslims traditionally mark Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, by slaughtering livestock.

Usually a goat, sheep or a cow is killed to commemorate Prophet Ibrahim's test of faith.

The meat from the sacrificed animals is the shared among family and friends and poor people who cannot afford to sacrifice their own animals as a gesture of generosity to promote social harmony.

Dhaka residents used parking areas, garages and alleys to kill the animals and the blood flowed into the flooded streets, turning them into rivers of blood.