Increasing number of politicians keeping themselves indoors in line with the shutdown
Increasing numbers of people are now working from home as Covid-19 spreads, having infected more than 300 people in Bangladesh to date and taken the lives of 21.
The effects of the coronavirus pandemic are also being felt in the corridors of power, with a growing number of politicians in Bangladesh keeping themselves indoors, in line with the nationwide shutdown to stem the spread of the pandemic.
The government ordered a shutdown from March 26, which it first said was for 10 days until April 4 before extending it to April 14.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has joined global leaders who have removed themselves from their workplaces.
She has been conducting meetings via phone and videoconference. However, she meets small groups of people, says an aide.
“She is dealing with her everyday task from her official residence [Ganabhaban]. She is giving necessary instructions to government officials and party leaders over the phone. Apart from official things, she’s saying her daily prayers and taking walks on the lawn of Ganabhaban every day,” Biplab Barua, a special assistant to the prime minister, told Dhaka Tribune.
The problem with politicians is that they are accustomed to meeting large numbers of people on a regular basis and therefore are not always able to keep the social distancing required in these circumstances.
And that was exactly the case with senior Cabinet member Obaidul Quader, who also serves as the Awami League general secretary, until he was told by the prime minister to stay indoors.
Quader, who is in charge of the road transport and bridges ministry, is now communicating with his colleagues at the Secretariat as well as in the party through phone, e-mail and videoconference.
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia is on a mandatory 14-day quarantine, which ends on April 9, at her residence in Gulshan.
She was released on March 25 from prison conditionally after the government suspended her sentence on ‘humanitarian grounds’ amid the surge in coronavirus cases.
“After the quarantine ends, we will discuss her treatment,” BNP Vice-Chairman AZM Zahid Hossain told Dhaka Tribune.
The former prime minister spends her day watching television, reading newspapers and speaking with family members over the phone, according to party insiders.
Things are not usual for Gono Forum chief Kamal Hossain either.
The octogenarian former foreign minister, who leads the opposition coalition Jatiya Oikya Front, is not stepping outside his home in these “unusual times”.
“I have experienced a lot of things in my life, but nothing critical like this,” said the Oxford-educated international jurist.
Meanwhile, Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh chief AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury has taken to kitchen gardening amid the shutdown.
“I have started a vegetable garden and taking care of it is a nice way to spend time,” said the 84-year-old before adding he also did a lot of reading and writing throughout the day.
Meanwhile, lawmakers are now focusing on their constituencies to stem the spread of Covid-19.
Dhaka Tribune has spoken with several ruling party MPs, who said they had travelled to their constituencies in recent times to ensure aid for low-income groups of people and confer with local officials on steps to ensure social distancing.
Speaking to Dhaka Tribune earlier this week, State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said that he was in his constituency and had at least three meetings the same day with the local administration.
“I urged them to take strict action to minimize movement of people throughout Dinajpur district and stressed a strict implementation of social distancing as the virus situation is likely to deteriorate in April,” said Khalid, Dinajpur .
Source: Dhaka Tribune
