Syed Shemul Parvez :
Compared to last year, there was a lot of relaxation on the first day of the countrywide lockdown on Monday.
On the day the administration was not seen to take strict measures to enforce the lockdown. On the other hand the general people were also seen wandering here and there.
A huge number of rickshaws, CNG-run auto rickshaws, motorcycles and cars dominated the roads of the capital and port city Chattogram during the first day of the weeklong nationwide.
In Dhaka, office goers were seen travelling on the rickshaws and the auto-rickshaws to reach their destinations as public transports went off the streets during the lockdown to contain the to contain the second wave of Covid-19.
As the government, autonomous and private offices were allowed to operate with “limited manpower,” people were seen gathering at different points of the city, including Dhanmondi, Mirpur, Uttara, Rampura, Banasree, Khilgaon, Shahbag, and Panthapath, for alternative transports.
Rickshaw became the main mode of transport in the capital on the day as many were seen hiring rickshaws and auto-rickshaws to reach their offices.
Passengers alleged that rickshaw pullers took extra fares.
Some hired CNG auto rickshaws on share as the drivers denied to run on meter, some passengers alleged.
Few motorcyclists were seen carrying pillion riders while many people walked to their short-distance destinations.
Besides, Police and RAB set up check posts in the capital during the lookdown.
RAB sources said that the vehicles that came out during the lockdown were being stopped here and questioned as to why they got out. Even their vehicle documents were also being checked.
At Munshiganj’s Mawa ferry terminal, thousands of passengers stranded for lockdown. As a result, they started protesting from morning.
Protests were later allayed after discussions with ferry authorities.
In Chittagong, six mobile courts have been launched to make the lockdown effective.
In Khulna, sources said that there was no way to understand the situation in the city that a lockdown is going on in the country.
In Sylhet, there was seen a loose lockdown going on across the city.
In Rajshahi, traders protested in front of RDN Market of the city around 12pm demanding to keep the shops open.
UNB adds: Streets in capital Dhaka have apparently taken a deserted look as the country started a 7-day lockdown on Monday, aiming to contain the second wave of Covid-19.
A small number of private cars, some rickshaws and auto-rickshaws were seen plying the streets in the morning.
As government, autonomous and private offices were allowed to operate with ‘limited manpower’, many were seen hiring rickshaws and auto-rickshaws to reach their offices.
Rehana Begum, an employee of a private office in Motijheel area and a resident of Rampura area, said, “I had to hire an auto-rickshaw at a much higher fare to reach my office today and it will be difficult for me to spend such amount of fare everyday.”
However, shops and shopping malls have been kept closed as per the government instruction to enforce the lockdown.
Kitchen markets were seen open in different areas but the number of buyers was relatively thin.
Expressing his worry over the lockdown Haris Mia, a day-labourer, said, “The bleak days of the previous year have returned again in our life, there’s no one to think about us. Hunger will grip us if the lockdown continues.”
The main objective of the lockdown is to control unnecessary public movements and gatherings with stronger monitoring by the members of law enforcement agencies and thus contain the virus transmission.
