Blood runs through streets of Dhaka after mixing with monsoon rains during Eid al-Adha celebrations

'I was scared. It was an image of mass violence that shouldn’t ever be experienced'

The streets of Dhaka, Bangladesh ran red on Tuesday as flood water mixed with the blood of sacrificed animals.

Flooding is common in the Bangladeshi capital, which suffers from underdeveloped drainage infrastructure.

However, heavy rains came at the same time as the festival of Eid al-Adha.

Thousands of livestock animals are killed for the event every year and their meat is usually eaten or given to the poor.

This year, sacrifices were supposed to be done in locations designated by the city authorities but many residents are reported to have ignored the rules and carried them out in their own properties or neighbourhoods.

Some people said the authorities had not done enough to promote the sacrificial sites.

Pictures of the vivid red water, which affected mainly the Shantinagar area of the city, were shared widely on social media.

Waste from the animals, such as offal, was also discarded and mixed with the water.

“It made me speechless,” local artist, Atish Saha, told the Guardian.

“I felt I was walking through a post-apocalyptic neighbourhood. To be honest, I was scared. It was an image of mass violence that shouldn’t ever be experienced.”

However, other residents said the flooding only lasted several hours and the waters have now receded.

Eid al-Adha is the second most important festival for Muslims after Eid al-Fitr. It marks the willingness of Ibrahim – known to Christians as Abraham – to sacrifice his son for God.

Animals are sacrificed in many Muslim countries for the event. In Pakistan in 2010, it was estimated 7.5 million animals were killed for the event, at a cost of $3 billion, Asian Correspondent reported.