Reza Mahmud :
Indian variant of coronavirus has created the pandemic more hazardous as the bordering people of Bangladesh are commuting the neighboring country sporadically.
Sources said people in every border districts use to go and return Indian villages frequently everyday without any visa-passports and official manners.
These people frequently go and visit their relatives in villages in India and use to buy and sale different items in bordering local markets and return within hours.
Those people are increasing the danger carrying Indian variant of covid-19 disease involuntarily.
When contacted, eminent Virologist Professor Dr. Nazrul Islam, former Vice-Chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University told The New Nation, “Indian variant of covid-19 has been proved very much contagious. In this situation the whole border areas have to be locked down strictly to prevent spreading the India variant in the country.”
The Professor said it is not acceptable to keep lockdown in Chapainababgonj district only.
Professor Dr. M. Muzaherul Huq, former Advisor of the World Health Organisation told The New Nation, “All Upazilla Health Comlexes near the borders should be equipped for early management of cases with availability of oxygen, oxygen mask and high flow nasal cannula. Trained doctors and nurses are to be made available for a readiness to manage such cases,”
The health authorities on Saturday said that they were detected the Indian variant of Covid-19 in samples of 13 more people.
Seven of them are from Chapainawabganj but they did not visit India recently.
Professor Dr Tahmina Shirin, Director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), said it to the journalists on Saturday.
According to IEDCR data, a total of 20 cases of the Indian Covid-19 variant have been detected in the country so far.
In these situation, government has imposed lockdown on Chapainababgonj district to contain the deadly variant.
But experts are differing on this step.
“The real threat comes now as the Indian variant detected in the country. If the Indian variants become active along with the UK and South African ones, it will spell disaster for us. Our healthcare system will not be able to tackle the situation,”
Professor Dr Be-Nazir Ahmed, former Director (disease control) of the DGHS told The New Nation.
He suggested the government to be stricter on compelling the people to maintain health safety rules. Our Jenaidah Correspondent SI Mollik on Saturday reported that people of the Maheshpur Upazila of the district frequently visit their relatives in Indian border villages through Matila, Palianpur, Loraighata, Srirampur, Khosalpur and Betbaria points.
They used to buy and sale products also in the local markets of the neighboring borders.
Commanding Officer of BGB, L. Colonel, Kamrul Ahsan could not reached over phone to get his comment on this matter.
Ikramul Haque Samrat our correspondent, of Kurigram district, said the people living in bordering villages near India use to cross the borders to visit their relatives and others in the adjacent areas of the neighboring country frequently.
They are creating threat of spreading of Indian variant of fatal coronavirus.
When contacted, Commanding Officer of BGB Md. Jamal Hossain told The New Nation on Saturday, “Incautious people of bordering village use to cross border illegally. It is tough to catch them as they use different tricks to meet their cross border relatives. If we find them crossing the border illegally, we arrest them.”
He said the BGB is alert enough to curb such movement.
