News Desk :
Shop owners and employees staged demonstrations in Dhaka, Chattogram and Rajshahi on Monday, demanding to continue their businesses, maintaining health safety rules during the lockdown.
In Dhaka, several hundreds shop owners and employees took to the streets in the New Market and adjacent areas for the second consecutive day, protesting the government’s decision to shut down all shopping malls and markets during the weeklong lockdown.
They also urged the government to allow them to continue their businesses during the lockdown.
The traders said they incurred huge losses last year when the pandemic broke out.
They feared of incurring losses again for the ongoing lockdown as the Eid season has started.
Additional law enforcers have been deployed in the area to keep the situation under control, SM Kaiyum, Officer-in-Charge of New Market police station, told media.
Besides, traders and employees of Islampur in Dhaka protested against the weeklong lockdown blocking in the area.
According to eyewitnesses and police sources, traders and employees of more than a hundred shops blocked the Islampur-Patuatuli main road in Old Dhaka around 11:30 am. Later, Kotwali police came to the spot and talked to the traders.
Kotwali Police Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mizanur Rahman said, “When the shop owners and employees protested, we were able to explain their details and remove them. They will follow the government’s instructions.”
Meanwhile, several thousand traders have staged demonstration in the New Market intersection of Chattogram city on Monday protesting the ongoing lockdown.
They took to the street around 3pm and started chanting slogans urging the authorities to repeal its lockdown decision.
They demanded businesses be allowed to remain open, even if it is on a limited scale.
Md Sagir, president of Chattogram New Market Business Association, said they took to the streets as they had their backs to the wall.
“We starved for three months during the first phase of the lockdown. There was no incentive from the government. But VAT and other taxes were collected from us,” he said.
“The lockdown has been imposed again at a time when we were eyeing good sales with the occasion of Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr ahead,” he added.
He demanded that markets be allowed to open complying with hygiene rules, in the manner industries and factories are in operation.
In Rajshahi city, shop owners and employees also staged demonstrations demanding to allow them to continue their businesses.
They blocked the Shaheb Bazar road in front of RDA market and chanted different slogans to press home their demand.
