Dhaka roads mostly empty on second day of ‘strict lockdown’

 

Photo: Palash Khan

On the second day of the two week-long “strict lockdown”, streets in Dhaka were mostly empty this morning amid rainy weather.

As the day proceeded, number of rickshaws and private cars as well as public movement increased on the roads.

Photo: Palash Khan

Our correspondent visited Farmgate, Shahbagh, Panthapath, Mohammadpur, Shyamoli, Ring Road, Adabor, and Dhanmondi areas and found that like yesterday, people who were returning to Dhaka after celebrating Eid-ul-Azha at their village homes were walking long distances along with their luggage.

Holidaymakers — especially women, children and elderly persons — were having a difficult time due to lack of public transports on the roads.

Photo: Palash Khan

Police, Rab, Border Guard Bangladesh and army personnel have set up check-posts, but due to rain, monitoring was hampered at some points.

Shafiqul Islam, a traffic sergeant who was on-duty at Farmgate intersection, said, “Policemen took shelter beside the road during the sudden rain. So, monitoring was hampered a little. After the rain stopped, we started checking commuters again,” he said.

At Karwan Bazar intersection, police were seen stopping vehicles coming from various directions and wanted to know the reason for their commute. Those who failed to give satisfactory answers were fined.

Photo: Palash Khan

Law enforcers were also seen distributing masks among those who came out without wearing them, defying the Covid-19 health guidelines.

The fresh lockdown was put in effect at 6:00am on Friday, banning operations of trains, domestic flights, river traffic, and personal vehicles. There was no restriction on freight services.