Crowds of homebound people from Dhaka have increased since the announcement of a strict lockdown from April 14, to capture the upsurging transmission of Coronavirus.
Although inter-district passenger transport is on a halt, people are trying to return home taking risk hiring private cars and alternative transports.
Although there are various passenger transports in the capital, long distance vehicle is not running. As a result, homebound people were returning home by reserving microbuses, private cars, pickup vans yesterday. Some people reached to the outskirts of the city and got upon private cars, auto-rickshaws, pick-up vans and motorbikes spending extra fare.
Many of them have left for home on foot as they could not manage vehicles. Many children were seen waiting for vehicles on their mothers’ laps.
Md. Mahfuj reached Meherpur from Dhaka yesterday. He told Bangladesh Post, "No public transport is running. We have reserved a microbus to come to Dhaka."
"There was a lot of traffic jam on the Gabtali-Aminbazar road. No tendency to follow the health rules was seen among the homebound people," he added.
Many passengers crossed the Aminbazar Bridge on foot and got up in microbuses, pick-up vans and motorcycles.
Novel Majumder, another homebound commuter told Bangladesh Post, "I used to work as a supervisor at an interior design company. But now there is no work. So I am moving to my ancestral home in Noakhali. It will be costly for me to stay in Dhaka."
However, passengers complained that, the drivers were demanding extra fare for the alternative modes of transport.
Yasin Alam, a student, said, "I am thinking of how to go to Sirajganj. It costs Tk 250 per person to go to Sirajganj usually on a bus. But the motorbikes are asking Tk3,500-4,000 and the private cars are demanding Tk 1,500 each. I'm thinking of going back to my dormitory."
On the second phase of the lockdown, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said, "The government is making every effort to deal with the second wave of coronavirus on the basis of experts’ advice. Subsequently the harsher lockdown will be imposed from April 14."
The first phase lockdown started on April 5 in the capital and across the country to implement the 18 points announced by the government to prevent transmission.