More people defy shutdown order
More vehicles and people were seen out in the streets in the capital as elsewhere across the country on Wednesday in violation of the nationwide shutdown that began on March 26 to curb the coronavirus spread.
People were still overcrowding the kitchen markets without maintaining social distancing and ignoring repeated calls from the authorities concerned to stay at home.
The authorities were imposing a ban on all public transports, shutting down affected districts and areas and moving kitchen markets to open spaces and but all these efforts proved ineffectual in the face of people’s indifference.
Meanwhile, the government has decided to extend the ongoing general holiday till May 5 so that people stayed home to limit the spread of the infectious disease.
This would be the fifth extension of the general holiday that began on March 26 to check the spread of the novel coronavirus which has already claimed 120 lives and infected 3,772 people across the country so far.
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A gazette notification would be issued tomorrow, state minister for public administration Farhad Hossain told New Age.
The government initially announced the general holiday from March 26 to April 4, which was later extended four times.
Into its sixth week, COVID-19 has spread to 55 districts, prompting the local administrations in 39 districts across the country to impose total lockdown from April 21 while 16 more districts announced partial lockdown, as per the situation report prepared by the ministry of disaster management and relief.
Meanwhile, vehicles on road have multiplied.
Mominur Rahman, a sub-inspector of Rampura police, has been checking vehicles at a checkpoint near Rampura bridge since the shutdown began on March 26.
He told New Age that there had been a surge of vehicle movements in the main streets for the last few days.
‘People were making excuses about the necessity to going to banks, hospitals, attending patients, and shopping essential commodities. We are trying to verify these ruses but finding it difficult to make them go back home,’ he added.
Kitchen market relocation also did not lead to any positive outcome as shoppers were still gathering there without maintaining social distancing, said shop owners.
Dhaka North City Corporation has moved major kitchen markets to nearby roads and open spaces, but overcrowding still continues, said official.
DNCC chief revenue officer Abdul Hamid Mia said that they were facing hurdles in relocating Mohammadpur Krishi Market and Gulshan kitchen markets.
Other major kitchen markets were relocated and shops were placed maintaining 10 feet distance between them, but some sellers and shoppers were not following instructions and easily avoided demarcation lines, Hamid said.
Naya Bazaar is shifted to Armanitola field, but people were thronging into the site ignoring social distancing norms.
‘People are unmindful of maintaining the necessary distance. Besides, wholesale rice market and medicine markets are also a major cause of concern there, said Jakir Hossain, secretary of Armanitola Social Welfare Association.
Wari is one of the worst affected areas in the capital and several roads and neighbourhoods there came under lockdown recently.
‘At least three residents of Bihari camp in Mohammadpur got infected with the novel virus, including a septuagenarian who died,’ said Sadaqat Khan, president of Urdu-Speaking Peoples’ Youth Rehabilitation Movement Bangladesh.
Another inmate in Mirpur-11 Bihari Camp was also tested positive for the virus. All the affected families were in isolation.
‘Maintaining lockdown or isolation in such camps are more difficult as most of the residents live from day to day and the each family has to share a single 10 by 12 feet room,’ he said.
Queues in front of mobile shops of open market sale are getting longer as more people from different classes and income groups gather there without maintaining social distancing.
Most of such selling points in the capital had no police presence to ensure proper distance between people.
News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net
