The weeklong lockdown in Bangladesh entered the second day on Tuesday with a growing public apathy to it as a large number of private vehicle, rickshaw and auto-rickshaw started plying the city streets and people moving freely ignoring the risks of Covid-19 transmission.
However, public transport went off the roads while shops remained shut in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country, reports news agency UNB.
Office-goers endured sufferings to reach their destinations as they did the previous day.
Alongside car, rickshaw and CN-run auto-rickshaw and microbus and many ride-sharing services were seen operating in the capital as usual.
Malls are closed as per the government instruction but shops were seen open in many areas.
Members of law enforcement agencies were seen at many points providing masks to those moving without masks ignoring the health guidelines.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has taken the initiative to distribute masks to raise awareness among people, said Iftekharul Islam, additional deputy commissioner of police (media).
The points include Jatrabari intersection, Kaptan Bazar, Shapla Chattar, Uttar Badda Bazar and Khalpar areas in the city.
Protests, attacks marked first day lockdown
Bangladesh passed the first day of its weeklong lockdown on Monday with stray incidents of protest and attacks.
Hundreds of shop owners and staff demonstrated in New Market area in the capital on Monday, demanding the government allow them to operate for several hours every day during the “lockdown”.
A number of office and house were vandalised and set on fire by locals in Saltha upazila of Faridpur on Monday night after a man was injured in an apparently unprovoked attack by a public servant.
The Upazila Parishad, residence of Upazila Nirbahi Officer, police station, office of the assistant commissioner (land), upazila agriculture office, and sub-registry office, among others, were vandalised and some were torched
It is the first official lockdown in Bangladesh to tackle the deadly coronavirus.
On 26 March last year, the government had declared general holidays along with a transport shutdown instead of enforcing lockdown as the country was witnessing the surge in coronavirus transmission.
As the country has been experiencing record-breaking Covid-19 cases for the past few days, the government on Sunday announced to impose a weeklong countrywide lockdown.
Covid surge in Bangladesh
Bangladesh recorded more than 7,000 new coronavirus cases for the third day in a row on Tuesday, as the country is struggling with the rising number of infections during its second wave.
Health authorities recorded 7,213 fresh Covid-19 cases and record 66 deaths in 24 hours till Tuesday morning. With the new deaths during the period, the coronavirus fatalities rose to 9,384.
Bangladesh has so far recorded 651,652 coronavirus cases, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.
