Kitchen market relocation faces hurdles

Authorities concerned in Dhaka are taking various strategies including relocation of retail kitchen markets to thin crowds there as the crowded marketplaces and business-hubs stand in the way of implementation of lockdown to check transmission of the novel coronavirus.

Some of the major retail kitchen markets in the capital including Karwan Bazar are moved to open spaces on nearby roads while others could be moved for unavailability of open spaces there, police said.

Local administrations in 38 districts across the country, meanwhile, have imposed total lockdown as of April 20, as per the situation report by the ministry of disaster management and relief.

Seventeen more districts, including many areas of the capital, were put under partial lockdown, the report said.

From now on, Karwan Bazar retail kitchen market will be operated on the road stretching between Farmgate and Tejgaon level crossing.

The retailers said that they were asked to shift their shops on Tuesday and more than hundred traders have already moved their shop on the footpath of the road.  

A vegetable trader Dulal Mia said that police instructed them to run their retail makeshift shops from 6:00am to 6:00pm.

The retailers also formed a group of volunteers ensure social distancing and discipline and control vehicular movement on the road.

Biplob Bijoy Talukdar, deputy commissioner of DMP Tejgaon division, said that there would be specific time and one way entry and exit routes for goods-laden trucks to the wholesale vegetable market at Karwan Bazar.

 

 

Biplob said that goods-laden trucks would be allowed there after evening and they would enter the market through the alley beside WASA Building and the alley beside CA Bhaban and leave immediately after unloading goods through the roads between Karwan Bazar kitchen market to Sonargaon Hotel and Karwan Bazar kitchen market to TCB Bhaban.

Karwan Bazar Wholesale Kitchen Market Traders’ Association secretary Lokman Hossain told New Age that wholesale traders from outside the capital would be allowed to purchase goods from 7:00pm to 2:00am and traders from different kitchen markets of Dhaka city would purchase goods from 4:00am to 10:00am.

In an announcement on Friday, Dhaka Metropolitan Police instructed relocating retail markets to nearby roads and keep 20-25 feet distance between shops.

Haiterpool kitchen market was already moved to open space under the supervision of police and armed forces members.

The kitchen market in Mirpur-6 is also relocated to nearby road, said shoppers there.

Lalbagh division deputy commissioner of DMP  Muntasirul Islam told New Age that they had relocated major kitchen markets in the old town of Dhaka to nearby roads and open areas to avoid crowd and ensure social distancing.

‘We are mainly moving vegetable and fish shops to open space. Such shops at Begum Bazar, Chawk Bazar, Kamrangirchar are moved to open spaces. Kitchen market at Lalbagh Kellar Mor is also shifted to Beribadh,’ Muntasirul said.

He said that relocating Shyambazar, the biggest wholesale vegetable market in Dhaka, was a challenge for them as adjacent roads were narrow and there was no other open space available.

Meanwhile, breaching of lockdown continued in many areas as people still roam around in alleyways unnecessarily. Military personnel and police are patrolling mainly on major streets.

Queues in front of mobile shops of open market sale are getting longer as more people from different classes and income groups crowd there without maintaining social distancing. 

Most of such selling points in the capital had no police presence to ensure social distancing.

Police officials said that the dealers at selling points did not inform them or consult before starting selling.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net