People have their temperature checked while entering a market in Dhaka, Bangladesh on May 11, 2020. On Monday, major Dhaka roads and streets got busy again a day after shops and markets reopened though on a limited basis following a government order. (Str/Xinhua)
by Naim-Ul-Karim
DHAKA, May 11 (Xinhua) -- For the first time since March, shop owner Rahim Miah went out on Monday.
"I'm going to see my boutique shop," said Miah on a Dhaka street, "I'm planning to reopen my shop soon to have some Eid shoppers."
Miah's store in Mouchak, one of Dhaka's famous shopping hubs, sells stylish clothing, luxury goods and jewelry items to woo female customers especially during the Muslim Eid festival.
Shukkur Ali is a street vendor in Dhaka's Rampura area. He said he reopened his stall on Sunday and got some customers.
"I'll open my roadside stall of shirt, pant and baby dresses again today," he said.
With about two weeks left before Eid-ul-Fitr which marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan that started here on April 25, many like Ali and Miah are reopening or planning to reopen their shops and stalls either inside a market or on footpaths.
Dhaka, therefore, sees a big spike of traffic on its major roads and streets on Monday.
People in the city are apparently no more in COVID-19 lockdown mood. On Monday, major Dhaka roads and streets got busy again a day after shops and markets reopened though on a limited basis following a government order.
Mofiz Uddin Ahmed, additional commissioner traffic of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), told Xinhua Monday that the pressure of capital dwellers returning back to streets is expected to mount further in the coming days. To make the travel of the passengers easy and safe, he said additional forces have been deployed on Dhaka streets.
"We've deployed 1,300 traffic personnel today to ensure the safety of motorists," he said.
Even two days ago, he said around 1,000 traffic personnel were required to be deployed in the city in a relaxed motion.
"But today we had to increase deployment of our forces as we faced more pressure of the people returning to the streets."
"I've asked my people to equip themselves with the protective gear properly, particularly when they have to respond to emergency situations, and enforce strict traffic rules so that we can prevent COVID-19," he said.
Law enforcers tasked with ensuring the safety of Dhaka dwellers are growing increasingly susceptible to COVID-19 in the country.
At least 1,509 policemen have so far reportedly been infected with COVID-19 in Bangladesh. Among them, 708 contracted the virus in Dhaka city alone under the DMP.
Against this backdrop, an official at DMP traffic control room who preferred to be unnamed said the increased pressure of people on Dhaka streets is a big concern for them.
He said traffic on main Dhaka streets increased by around 50 percent on Monday compared with the previous two days.
People in Dhaka had about one and a half month of respite from the usual crowd, noise, car honking and pollution owing to the COVID-19 lockdown which was eased later last month with permission to reopen factories.
Later Bangladesh allowed re-opening of shops and markets in the country from May 10 on a limited scale. The decision also came days after thousands of the country's readymade garment (RMG) factories resumed operations amid fears that a sudden reopening of economic activities could spark a new wave of infections.
The virus has spread to 63 out of the 64 districts in Bangladesh. The number of confirmed infections in the country totaled 15,691 while fatalities stood at 239 including 11 deaths on Monday.
A total of 1,034 more cases were confirmed in Bangladesh in the last 24 hours as of 8:00 a.m. local time Monday, the highest daily increase in the country since March 8.
Defending the government's recent move, Bangladesh Commerce Secretary Md Jafar Uddin said that the economic disruptions caused by COVID-19 have taken a toll on the livelihoods of millions of people in the country's informal sectors.
"We have to contain COVID-19 and save our economy. We have to do both," said the commerce secretary.
