By defying the special lockdown, hundreds of working-people from Chapainawabganj district are leaving for Dhaka by availing buses from Rajshahi by evading police check posts.
In the bus terminal of Rajshahi several hundred people, mainly day labourers, from Chapainawabganj were seen to throng to avail Dhaka bound buses on last Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. As a result, the Coronavirus is feared to infect and spread among people in other districts as well.
According to sources with the rapid spread of Coronavirus infection in Chapainawabganj district and the detection of fatal Indian Coronavirus variant among the people of frontier upazilas there, the district district administration of Chapainawabganj imposed a Special Lockdown for a week throughout the district from 6-00 Am on Tuesday (25 May) to the midnight of May-31.
But, in defiance of the special lockdown, working class people from the district are arriving in Rajshahi by availing auto-rickshaws and microbuses. At a safe distance from the Police Check Posts those people were deported from the vehicles and crossing those check posts through walking on foot. Moreover, by huddling on the reserved microbues they were travelling towards Dhaka on various pleas.
On Tuesday night, a group of day labourers were seen to crowd at Seroil Bus Stand in Rajshahi. They were using the dialect of Chapainwabganj while talking among themselves. They informed, they were going to Dhaka to join their jobs. They said, they arrived in Sultanganj under Godagari upazila of Rajshahi by riding on boats through the river Padma and then they availed buses to reach at Seroil Bus Terminal. None of them were seen to wear masks on their faces.
On Wednesday evening, eight Dhaka bound passengers on a coach at Seroil bus terminal were from Chapainawabganj. In other Dhaka Bus Ticket Counters, presence of a large number of passengers from Chapainawabganj were noticed.
A passenger standing on the footpath adjacent to Dhaka Bus Counter at Seroil informed, he hailed from Godagari of Rajshahi bus his NID bears the address of Narendrapur under Chapainawabganj sadar area. On Wednesday and Thursday some more passengers from Chapainawabganj district were seen to depart for Dhaka by availing buses from Seroil Bus Terminal.
Meanwhile, by being informed that some 40 workers boarded on a truck from in front of Durlavpur Union Parishad building under Shibganj upazila of C'nawabganj were departing for Dhaka at 10-00 PM on Wednesday, Upazila Nirbahi Officer Sakib Al Rabbi rushed to the spot and seized the truck with 21 passengers. Sensing the presence of the UNO, other passengers managed to escape from the truck.
Meanwhile, Rajshahi District Administration held an emergency meeting at the auditorium of the Deputy Commissioner on Wednesday noon to review the incumbent Coronavirus situation and the dos of the administration to decrease the influx of people in Rajshahi from Chpainawabganj. Fazley Hossain Badsha, Member of Parliament in Rajshahi sadar constituency attended the meeting as the chief guest. In the meeting Fazley Hossain Badsha informed that, in addition to using the riverine routes, people from C'nawabganj were arriving in Rajshahi by using alternative roads from Nachole and Gomastapur upazilas. He directed the Police administration so that no people from Chapainawabganj can arrive in Rajshahi through alternative roads.
Fazley Hossain Badsha MP also requested the local administration to opt for imposing a strict or special lockdown in Rajshahi to check spread of Coronavirus. He said, the Indian variant of Coronavirus has been detected in a number of patients at RMCH and already several patients with the virus died recently. Most of those patients were from Chapainawabganj district.
Head of the Department of Virology of RMCH Dr. Sabera Gulnahar informed that the rate of Coronavirus infection in the country is the highest in Chapai Nawabganj district. On Tuesday, presence of Coronavirus was detected in 62 percent of the tested samples from the patients of Chapaiwanganj while rate of infection in the samples of Rajshahi is 28 percent.
It is learnt, more than a half of the patients admitted in the Coronavirus wards of RMCH are from Chapainawabganj district.
Zahid Nazrul Chowdhury, Civil Surgeon of Chapainwabganj informed on Wednesday that by testing samples ( Rapid Antigen test) of 212 patients, Corona positive was detected among 131 patients in the district. He further mentioned at present, 393 patients infected with Coronavirus are getting treatment in various hospitals and clinics of the district. So far Corona has been detected among 1,503 patients and 1,083 have been cured while 28 died.
He further said 72 persons have arrived from India through the Sona Masjid land port recently. Of those people, Coronavirus has been detected in one person's body.
People arriving from India through Sona Masjid land port are being kept at a residential hotel in the town and are being tested for the presence of Coronavirus while the Corona positive person has been kept in isolation.
