Reza Mahmud :
Bangladesh has shut its borders with India for stopping entrance of Indian variant of triple mutant strain of Covid virus in the country, but less monitoring creates huge anxiety in this regards.
Sources said, though the borders with India have been sealed for two weeks, some land ports are remaining open for export and import goods.
Thousands of goods loaded trucks are arriving everyday from India.
Thousands of truck drivers and their associates also are travelling in Bangladesh borders every day, but there are no arrangements of covid tests for those.
Port authorities said that lots of cautionary measures have been taken to prevent spreading of Indian variant of covid virus.
But witnesses said that there are no strong supervisions on people coming from the neighboring country.
Chairman of Bangladesh Land Port Authority, KM Tariqul Islam told journalists,
“Different measures have been taken regarding people and goods. The vehicles and goods coming from India were used to be sanitized and the people were kept under strict surveillances.”
He said the truck drivers who come from India are supposed to stay in their trucks.
For their emergency necessities of refreshments and rests, different arrangements have been settled so that they might not have a space to spread virus, he said.
Besides, people who are crossing the border recently said that officials responsible to check and taking action respectively are not doing their duties properly.
“Officials working in the borders are not used to maintain health rules strictly,” Protima Haldar, a woman of Khulna came after visiting India on Monday told the journalists.
She said also that the border officials are not using any sanitizer on goods belongings to the people coming into Bangladesh.
Besides, Sumaiya Akter, another woman of Jessore travelled India with her father and husband recently also conveyed the similar message to journalists.
She said, “Officials are checking peoples’ passports only. Even they do not look on our Covid negative certificates also.”
When contacted, Professor Dr. Be-Nazir Ahmed, former Director of Disease Control of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare told The New Nation on Wednesday, “As the people who are coming to the country after travelling India are not monitored properly, it can be understood easily how strong measures they are taking on drivers coming for a short time.”
He warned of spreading Indian variant in the country if the restrictions are not followed properly in the borders.
Human Health Expert Dr. Mukhles Uz Zaman Hero, former Deputy Director of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital told The New Nation on Wednesday, “It has to give high priority to ensure strict monitoring of borders to check Indian variant of Covid virus spreading.”
When contacted, Dr. Robed Amin, Spokesperson of Directorate General of Health Services told The New Nation, “Directives have been given to the officials working on borders to be strict about every measures outlined regarding people and goods entering from India to check the variant.”
There are involvements of officials from different ministries. If they failed ensuring proper monitoring it would be matter of serious sadness, he added.
“We must srcutinise the matter and to convey it to higher authorities to ensure following the health rules properly on borders,” the DGHS spokesperson said.
