Just within hours of announcement for countrywide lockdown from Monday, tens of thousands of people have started leaving Dhaka for their village homes availing different modes of transport. No matter how much would cost for their travel in absence of long-route buses, the people are leaving boarding on motorcycle, CNG run auto-rickshaw, micro bus, boat and trawler defying police check posts at city’s entry and exit points.
We’re so much disappointed seeing that government is doing the same mistake again, what it had done earlier for a couple of times. And it never learnt a lesson from it. The government on Friday announced strict lockdown across the country in the name of curbing rapid surge in coronavirus apparently failing to arrange vaccines from anywhere. But in a sudden move, the government on Saturday announced that a ‘complete’ lockdown will be enforced from Thursday.
Earlier, we saw that government machinery had failed to handle a lockdown situation keeping millions of low and marginal-income-group people behind the doors without providing them enough cash and food. The door-to-door food service did not work well due to corruption of a section of ruling party men and government officials.
Usually, the prices of daily essential commodities start jumping when transports remain shutting due to lockdown. So, it becomes impossible for a day labourer or a rickshaw puller to buy their necessaries as they cannot go to work to earn money. Even, many low-paid job holders in private organizations have to face such difficult situation.
This time, we do urge the government to find out the potentiality of “community kitchen” in each ward, moholla from city to rural areas to arrange cooked foods for the trapped people during lockdown. Police, Ansars or volunteers could supply the ready-food to the needy people in designated areas. It will help reduce number of market-goers. The lockdown will be effective.
We know that, lockdown implementation will not be possible keeping mills, factories open. The owners of garments factories have started pressuring the government to keep their plants open. Leaders of Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) were in meetings with government over the issue yesterday evening. Sooner or later the government will have to bend down to their pressure.
It’s a good news that US ambassador Earl R. Miller on Saturday noon twitted — — Bangladesh would get 2.5 million doses of Covid vaccine from America under global vaccine alliance (GAVI). Presently, the US is the largest supplier of Covax vaccines in the world. But this 2.5 million is not enough; we need more to save our people.
The developed countries, such as UK, France, Germany and Spain, those have successfully controlled death and infection rates did not depend only on lockdown or shutdown. They had simultaneously applied a couple of methods, including masking, maintaining social distance and conducted vaccination programme in full force.
We cannot close the eyes to the failure of government to arrange vaccines in due time. Our Foreign Minister is seen busy in finding out other ministries’ fault. But has he done enough in arranging vaccines for people? The simple answer is ‘no’.
Many scientists and internationally reputed health experts have opined that it is quiet impossible to reduce number of hospitalization and death without mass vaccination. We must say Bangladesh is lagging behind in vaccination programme for impractical and amateurish policy while government is yet to calculate what could be the devastating impacts on economy if the situation prolongs.
