All markets and shopping centres reopened on Sunday after a closure of 12 days because of ongoing lockdown imposed due to surge in COVID-19 infections and deaths.
The lockdown has been relaxed considering the emergency centring the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr, the biggest religious festival of Muslims.
Although the plying of public transports remains suspended, the number of various private vehicles, rickshaws and auto-rickshaws marked a significant rise on the roads in the capital and elsewhere in the country as the government allowed shops and shopping malls to reopen in a limited scale.
The pressure of vehicles on the city streets was reported from areas like Mirpur, Gabtoli, Shyamoli, Uttara and Mohakhali amid the lockdown, which has been extended by another week to deal with the worsening Covid-19 situation.
The government allowed the shops and shopping malls to remain open from 12:00pm to 9:00pm from Sunday, prompting many people to return to the capital city.
With the reopening of markets and shopping centres, hundreds of people thronged different markets and shopping malls. Majority of the shoppers were not following the health rules and safety guidelines prescribed by the government. They were not maintaining physical distancing nor were they using sanitizers.
Besides, people were seen entering the capital on foot from different parts of the country through Babu Bazar, Amin Bazar Bridge and Tongi Bridge areas.
Althoug the movement of rickshaws on the main roads was relatively lower in the morning than other days, those were found moving in backstreets.
However, no public transport and other city services were seen on the city streets.
The owners and workers of shops, markets and shopping malls were seen busy reopening their doors since 9 am.
Traffic Police inspector Akhter Hossain said, the pressure of vehicles is increasing. But such pressure was not there during the last few days since the enforcement of the strict lockdown on April 14. This is happening following the government’s decision to allow shops and shopping malls to reopen.
Another traffic inspector, Asaduzzaman, said there has been huge traffic crowd in Mohakhali area since morning and our colleagues (fellow police officers) were asking the public for movement pass at designated check posts.
Since the second wave of coronavirus hit the country, the government had imposed a strict lockdown from April 14 and later it had been extended till April 28. But in view of the emergency of the Eid-ul-Fitre, the government decided to reopen the business activities, including markets and shopping centres.
However, all the government, non-government and private offices remained closed following the government orders.
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said the government is working on a plan to allow the public transport to resume operations once the current lockdown is over.
On March 29, the government raised the fares of all buses, including inter-district ones, by 60% as the vehicles are allowed to carry only half passengers of the total seats to ensure social distancing amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
