Social distancing norms were grossly violated by the public transports on Tuesday as passengers were seen crowding most of the buses in the city.
Almost all the buses were crammed like sardines. As soon as the public transport went back to previous fare from yesterday, they started carrying additional passengers against seats.
All public transports on Mirpur, Gabtoli, New Market, Motijheel, Saidabad, Mohammadpur were packed with passengers.
However, there was no maintenance of physical distancing as the transport workers did not follow the health guidelines.
Earlier, the government instructed the transport owners and workers not to carry additional passengers against seats.
Besides, it also ordered everyone – passengers, drivers and supervisors – to wear facemask and use disinfectant to keep vehicles germs-free.
Earlier, the government decided to reinstate previous fare for public transports on conditions from September 1, instead of the fare adjusted in the wake of coronavirus outbreak, considering the overall situation and public interest.
On the other hand, there was long queue at every bus stoppage where people sould hardly maintain physical distancing, and the crowding made screening of symptomatic people virtually impossible.
“It is not possible to prevent crowding inside public transport. So, we will have to go amid risk as there is no alternative,” a passenger said.
Hand washing facilities, including soaps and sanitizers, should be ensured and passengers must abide by the health guidelines properly to keep them safe from getting infected by the deadly virus, a passenger added.
In this regard the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) also issued a notification about the new decision side by side intensifying its regular monitoring measures to check the violation of government directives by vehicles on streets.
Besides, the highway police, district administration and others concerned have also been asked to remain more active to compel the vehicles to follow the directives.
Apart from these, the ministry of road transport and bridges has already ordered the authorities concerned to keep roads and highways neat and clean.
It also asked the officials concerned to remove unnecessary banners and posters from road dividers or both sides of the roads.