Traffic gridlock at places as Covid curb violation on in Bangladesh
More people and vehicles came out on streets across the country on Tuesday, creating traffic gridlocks in some places, violating the fresh ‘strict restrictions’ imposed by the government to contain the surge in Covid infections.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police on Tuesday arrested 467 more people for violating the restrictions, taking the number of people detained in the past six days to 3,085.
The DMP also fined 1,087 private vehicles Tk 25,29,025 for breaching the restrictions on Tuesday, the sixth day of the restrictions extended till July 14.
Mobile courts of the DMP fined 305 people Tk 2,27,480 and the Rapid Action Battalion fined 415 people Tk 2,37,200.
New Age Chattogram correspondent reported that 151 cases were filed in the port city for the restriction violation and 115 vehicles were seized on the day.
Besides, the Chattogram district administration conducted 16 mobile courts and imposed fine of TK 46,200 on people in 105 cases.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court’s custody in-charge sub-inspector Shahidul Islam said that 758 people were produced before the court on Tuesday and 698 of them were fined Tk 100 each for their release.
The rest 60 could not pay the fine and the court sent them to custody for two hours, said Shahidul.
The police said that the court’s proceedings took place in the Dhaka court’s custody on Tuesday since the number of arrestees for the restriction violation was large.
Many of the people who were released after they had paid the fine alleged that they had been kept in overcrowded custody rooms in police stations and brought to the court in crammed prison vans.
Most of the people who had been fined by the court for not wearing masks were seen leaving the court premises without masks.
The police have arrested many people for not following health guidelines and maintaining social distancing, but the law enforcers have hardly maintained social distancing, said a youth arrested for the restriction violation.
The police said that they had found that many people were coming on streets needlessly and fines, arrests and punishments could not dissuade them.
The police in Mirpur squatted some youths Tuesday afternoon for roaming around violating the restrictions.
Mirpur police sub-inspector Saiful Alam said that police patrol teams spotted some youths roaming and gossiping on the streets without masks and put them in queues and gave them light punishments.
Over 30 people were detained in front of Rajuk Bhaban in Dhaka in the afternoon as they gathered on the footpath unnecessarily, said assistant police commissioner of Motijheel Zone Abul Hasan.
The police communicated with guardians of some of the detainees over phone.
The police later released them after giving an awareness briefing, Abul Hasan.
Gatherings in alleys in Dhaka could not be checked yet and kitchen markets remained overcrowded while restaurants remained busy, especially during the morning hours.
Army officials said that they had started patrolling in alleys to check gatherings there and shutting down shops of non-emergency items.
Major Shawkatul Islam told reporters that they were requesting people to stay at their homes and not to come out on streets needlessly.
Along with private cars, rickshaws and motorcycles continued to dominate Dhaka streets.
Crowds and traffic congestions were noticed in different areas, including on the main roads in Karwan Bazar, Farmgate, Asadgate, Mohammadpur, Badda and Paltan.
The police set up check-posts in important points, including Mirpur, Tejgaon, Shahbagh, Kakrail and Paltan interrogated many commuters for coming out on the streets.
News Courtesy:
https://www.newagebd.net/article/143016/traffic-gridlock-at-places-as-covid-curb-violation-on-in-bangladesh
