Public transport went off the streets and shops remained shut in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka as the country started a 7-day lockdown on Monday, aiming to contain the second wave of Covid-19.
Private cars, rickshaws and auto-rickshaws dominated the streets in absence of public transport.
As government, autonomous and private offices were allowed to operate with ‘limited manpower’, many were seen hiring rickshaws and auto-rickshaws to reach their offices and return homes.
Rehana Begum, an employee of a private office in Motijheel area and a resident of Rampura area, said, “I had to hire an auto-rickshaw at a much higher fare to reach my office today and it’ll be difficult for me to spend such high amount of fare every day.”
However, shops and shopping malls have been kept closed as per the government instruction to enforce the lockdown.
Kitchen markets were seen open in different areas but the number of buyers was relatively thin.
Expressing worry over the lockdown Haris Mia, a day-labourer, said, “The bleak days of the previous year have returned in our lives…there’s no one to think about us. Hunger will grip us if the lockdown continues.”
Visiting Mirpur area, UNB correspondent reports shops in lanes, paras and mohallas remained open in some areas despite the lockdown.
City Corporation magistrate Saleha Binte Siraj conducted a mobile court drive at Mirpur-12 and fined five shop owners for keeping their shops open defying the government restriction.
Protests against lockdown
Meanwhile, shop owners and employees of New Market and adjacent shopping malls staged demonstrations for the second consecutive day on Monday protesting the closure of shopping malls during the 7-day lockdown.
The protesters first took to the streets on Sunday and vandalised a number of vehicles during the demonstrations. At one stage, they locked into clashes with police.
The owners and employees of shops of Dhaka New Super Market, Chandrima Super Market, Nur Mansion and several other shopping malls again brought out a procession in the New Market area around 10:30am to protest the closure.
They demanded the government allow the market owners to keep those open for four hours every day during the shutdown.
The main objective of the lockdown is to control unnecessary public movements and gatherings with stronger monitoring by the members of law enforcement agencies and thus contain the virus transmission.
It is the first official lockdown in Bangladesh to tackle the deadly coronavirus. On March 26 last year, the government had declared general holidays along with a transport shutdown instead of enforcing lockdown as the country was witnessing the surge in coronavirus transmission.
As the country has been experiencing record-breaking Covid cases for the past few days, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Sunday announced to impose a weeklong countrywide lockdown.
Most offices and factories will remain open during the period, but the employees will work in shifts maintaining health safety rules and government guidelines.
Earlier, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) issued an 18-point directive on March 29 to prevent the transmission of the virus.
Restrictions on movement
The Cabinet Division on Sunday issued a gazette notification imposing restrictions on the movement of people and other activities for seven days in a bid to improve the situation and enforce the lockdown.
According to the gazette, all modes of public transport (road, river, rail and domestic flights) will remain suspended during the period.
Emergency services, carrying of goods, production, overseas passengers and returnees will remain out of the purview of the restriction.
The offices, staffers and vehicles of the organisations providing emergency services, including law enforcement, relief distribution, health services, power, water, gas, fire services, port activities, telephone, and postal services are also out of the restriction ambit.
All the government offices, non-government, autonomous, private offices and courts will be allowed to carry a limited number of employees with their own vehicles to perform emergency duties.
Industries and factories will remain open while the ongoing construction works will continue.
The respective industries must take measures to carry their employees in their own vehicles.
BGMEA and BKMEA have been asked to take necessary steps to provide medical services to workers in industrial areas.
People’s movement will be restricted from 6 pm to 6 am, and no one will be allowed to go outside except for emergency needs (to purchase medicines, daily essentials, to take medical services and burial/ cremation of dead bodies etc).
Hotels and restaurants can operate with takeaway/online services only. No one will be allowed to have food sitting in hotels or restaurants.
All shopping malls and markets will remain closed during this period but online services will be allowed. All shop employees must follow the proper health guidelines.
Daily essential items can be sold and purchased from open spaces from 8 am to 4 pm to maintain health protocols. Local administrations and the authorities concerned will ensure it.
Besides, the Armed Forces Division will take necessary steps for establishing field hospitals at suitable places.
District and field administrations will take measures to enforce the directives in a coordinated way. Law enforcement agencies will strengthen patrol and take legal action against those who will violate the directives.
The authorities concerned also decided to suspend domestic flights and passenger train and launch services during the lockdown.
Banks will operate from 10am to 12:30pm for general transactions during the lockdown period from April 5 to 11. If necessary, they can remain open up to 2pm for performing other required activities.
