Reza Mahmud :
Thousands of hungry people have come out to city streets violating restrictions imposed by the government as food distribution is yet to start even after the seven days of the ongoing strict lockdown have ended.
While government is trying to contain the spreading of the hazardous covid-19, such breaching of restriction makes the measure ineffective as per experts’ views.
It was found in past several days including Thursday, people living on hand to mouth have desperately searched for food and work in streets and alleys in most areas of the capital.
The day labourer, construction workers, street vendors, rickshaw van pullers and such other people were seeking work and food as they had to live without any earnings past week.
“We have no any penny in hand as we lost work and earnings due to long pandemic that made us empty pocket earlier,” said Motaleb Hossain, a construction workers aide in Gandaria area in the city.
He said, “I had not any stock of food or money deposits to stay at home without hesitation. I need work and food to live with my elderly parents, children and their mother.”
“We haven’t got any food or cash aid yet, though heard that the government is giving help to the poor,” he said.
The other people around him also echoed the same expressing anger and frustration.
“In these situations, how can we stay home? If we get food then we need not to go out,” said Fajlur Rahman, a street vendor of the same area.
The Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief had allotted Tk 23,6,75,000 a week before strict lockdown started on July1 to distribute among the poor during this restriction.
Sources said Tk 50 lakh and 1000 tone rice have been allotted for each city corporation of Dhaka but they have not started distribution yet.
Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Atiqul Islam and Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Fajle Noor Taposh could not be reached to get their comments in this regard.
Md. Anisur Rahman, Councilor, Ward-2 of DSCC told The New Nation on Thursday, “We have not got any allotment to distribute among the poor in this lockdown.”
He said poor people in his Goran area asked us for food.
Md. Afsar Uddin Khan, Councilor, Ward-1of DNCC also told The New Nation on Thursday that they have not get any allocation to distribute in the ongoing restriction. Experts said without providing food to the poor, the restriction would not be viable to curb spreading of the ultra perilous delta variant of Covid-19 virus.
Contacted, Professor Dr. M. Muzaherul Huq, former Advisor of the World Health Organisation told The New Nation on Thursday, “Distribution of food is a must for people who are day labourers or day to day earners to implement an effective lockdown.”
Different countries have successfully provided essential commodities during such limited period, he added.
“It should be done locally by local representatives led by the MPs with the help of local government staffs,” he said.
The local government units have the list of the poor families as well as day labourers, the expert said.
