As most of the restrictions on movement were lifted today, public transport operation resumed across the country after 19 days, amid fear of further surge in Covid deaths and infections.
Dhaka dwellers are witnessing traffic jam at several points as public transport started plying the roads and all offices, shops and markets reopened today.
Many who left Dhaka to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha at their village homes and could not return due to the "strict lockdown", started returning to the capital today through buses, trains and launches.
Mosharref Hossain, general manager of Hanif Paribahan, said, "We have resumed our services from the morning but number of passengers is few at this moment."
Asked about the government's directive to operate half of the total fleet, he said, "Number of passengers is so few that we are running only one-fourth of our buses."
Meanwhile, 10 trains left Kamalapur Railway Station till 11:30am today.
Rafiqul Islam, Kamalapur Station Master, said that they were not selling any tickets beyond available seats and most of the tickets were sold out.
Launch service has also resumed in the morning and around 15 launches left Sadarghat Launch Terminal so far, Zainal Abedin, joint director of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), told this newspaper.
Although there is a pressure of Dhaka-bound passengers, the number of people leaving Dhaka is low, he said.
He said BIWTA held meetings with launch owners and asked them to ensure health safety guidelines and also announce the health rules through loud speakers.
He said launches were allowed to carry passengers at full capacity and previous fare was reinstated.
Operations of public transport remained suspended since July 23.
Cabinet Division on August 8 announced that all types of public transport can resume operation from today.
Public transport will be allowed to carry passengers at full capacity but half of the total number of vehicles would be allowed to operate, read the Cabinet Division circular.
