Staff Reporter :
The sixth day of the countrywide strict lockdown on Tuesday saw more crowds and vehicles on the roads of Dhaka as people seemed reluctant to follow the health safety restrictions.
The traffic was heavier and the crowd was larger in several parts of the capital since morning, a day after Bangladesh daily Covid-19 deaths and infections reached an all-time high, though the authorities are struggling to keep people at their homes.
In comparison to the previous five days, the number of office-goers on the street has increased. At some checkpoints, law enforcement agencies have been found to be lenient, whereas they were vigilant at important ones.
No law-enforcers were seen near the intersection of the Khilgaon rail gate area. Cars, rickshaws, and vans were used by people, including bank executives and other staff, to go to their destinations.
Despite the fact that offices are supposed to provide own transportation for their employees, many have not done so. As a result, many people were forced to travel by rickshaw or on foot.
Several police personnel were spotted sitting in a passenger shed at a bus stop next to the check post, near the Khidmah Hospital at Khilgaon. The streets were clogged with rickshaws, CNG vehicles, and motorcycles.
A similar scenario was noticed in different areas of the city. When asked why they left home, the majority of the drivers and passengers say it was either for medical, office, or urgent reasons.
Mamun, a policeman on duty in Rajarbagh, said “The traffic was a bit heavier than in the past few days. Especially for rush of more cars and rickshaws. This seems to for opening of banks, insurance and some other offices.”
People were coming out with a variety of excuses, when stopped by law enforcers. Long queues of vehicles were seen at several checkpoints. Moreover, numerous people were seen on the streets without masks or hanging on their chins.
“Despite warnings about jail and fines, the drivers are avoiding the mobile courts or the police teams. In particular, most people are coming out of home with a medical prescriptions, various test reports, and giving excuses of parents being alone at home or there being no one to babysit the child,” Sergeant Lima Akhter said.
Meanwhile, people on the streets were found irked over the lack of public transportation and being stopped at checkpoints.
The number of people visiting the kitchen markets yesterday was also higher than it had been in the previous few days.
“Cases are being filed against motorcycles with pillion passengers. We are also imposing fines and detaining people for not following the health rules and maintaining social distancing, and those who left home without a valid reason. The focus is to ensure the use of masks,” said Executive Magistrate Saiful Rahman, who was operating a mobile court at Ramna.
As Covid-19 took a dangerous turn in the country, the government imposed a seven-day strict lockdown beginning from July 1. On Monday, it was extended until July 14th, since the death and infection rates had risen to new highs.
The deadly Covid-19 claimed 15,229 lives in Bangladesh, and infected a total of 954,881 people so far.
