Inter-district bus, train and launch services resumed at half capacity today across the country.
Khandakar Enayet Ullah, secretary general of Bangladesh Road Transport Owners' Association, told that long-distance buses started operating across the country since morning.
The secretary general said they have instructed all their members to ensure that no passenger boards buses without masks.
The association has deployed its people at bus stands to monitor whether anyone was violating the government instructions.
While visiting Gabtoli, Shyamoli, Kalyanpur and Mazar Road in Dhaka in the morning, our photojournalist Palash Khan found transport workers asking passengers -- using loudspeakers -- to wear masks before boarding buses.
Officials at the counters of Shyamoli Paribahan and Hanif Paribahan said the number of passengers were less than their expectation.
Khairul Islam, divisional transport officer (Dhaka) of Bangladesh Railway, said five passenger trains left Dhaka's Kamalapur Railway Station since this morning.
Fifty-six intercity trains and 18 local ones are scheduled to resume operation at half capacity from today, Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan said yesterday.
All of the 50 percent train tickets will be sold online.
Joynal Abedin, joint director of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), said 15 launches have left Sadarghat so far.
The Cabinet Division in a circular yesterday lifted the restrictions on public transport.
The circular said all public transports will resume operation from today maintaining the health guidelines.
The government first imposed a weeklong restriction on transport services on April 5 to contain the second wave of the pandemic.
The authorities later extended the restrictions in phases till May 23.
mj/
