Neglect of Bangladesh lockdown rules raises alarm


FE REPORT | Published: July 30, 2021 08:34:27 | Updated: July 30, 2021 18:45:10


A group of people are travelling on a rickshaw van while two others are riding bicycles to their destinations. People who have to come out due to emergency rely on these modes of transport during the ongoing lockdown. The photo was taken in the Rayerbagh area on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway on Thursday — FE photo by Shafiqul Alam

Although a shocking surge of highly infectious and deadly Covid-19 virus continues, people's carelessness towards lockdown rules has gradually been increasing.

Healthcare professionals fear that the pandemic situation may go out of control for such recklessness on part of a good number of citizens.

On Thursday, the seventh day of the latest spell of the two-week lockdown, Dhaka's streets saw an increased number of people and traffic amid incessant rain.

Many came out of home without any valid reason while health protocols were hardly maintained in most cases.

Law-enforcers, including army personnel, installed checkpoints in places to strictly enforce the lockdown, but their activities were not seen as stricter as it was in the initial days. At the same time, people continued to enter the city amid rain through various entry points amid curbs on the movement of people, transportation and businesses.

Police personnel at the entry points looked helpless as people in their hundreds were coming through Postogola, Aminbazar and Abdullahpur bridges.

Health experts said the entry of an increased number of people to Dhaka from other districts might worsen the already upsetting Covid-19 situation in the country.

The FE talked to a number of people who crossed Postogola bridge and entered the capital. Most of them said they returned for the sake of livelihood.

They had to cross the mighty Padma by ferry and reached Shimulia jetty in Munshiganj.

From Mawa either by CNG-run auto-rickshaw or motorbike they reached the southern side of Postogola bridge. Crossing the bridge on foot, they went to their respective destinations.

"I reached the southern side of the bridge by a CNG-run auto-rickshaw from Mawa at Tk 800. I crossed the bridge on foot and would now go home at Faridabad," said Lablu, a fruit trader from Madaripur, in the afternoon.

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