Our Correspondent :
Hundreds of commuters gathered at Paturia ferry terminal on Thursday in a mad rush to go home ahead of Eid-ul Fitr defying the government’s restrictions over the coronavirus outbreak.
Escaping all kinds of police bars many gathered at the ferry ghat reaching by foot but are struggling to cross the river as the ferry operations remained suspended.
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) suspended ferry services on Monday to stop people from travelling home amid the pandemic.
As Cyclone Amphan that hit the coastal region of the country on Wednesday and weakened on Thursday, a large number of home goers started boarding engine-run boats or trawlers to cross the Padma River, witnesses said.
Law enforcers have installed check-posts at different points of the highway and are restricting all kind of passenger laden transports to prevent the transmission of the
virus, said Tania Sultana, Assistant Superintendent of Police.
“But passengers are skillfully escaping the restrictions,” she added.
Many trawlers and boats were also fined for operating defying the government ban, she said.
Meanwhile, the country confirmed coronavirus cases surged to 28,511 with the detection of 1773 more new cases in the span of 24 hours on Thursday.
Besides, the fast spreading virus claimed 22 more lives during the same period, raising the coronavirus death toll in the country to 408.
