Law enforcers have been struggling to enforce shutdown and keeping people confined to their homes, especially, in the morning as countywide evening to morning lockdown have begun on Saturday.
With the decision to put Gazipur, Sylhet, Brahmanbaria and Thakurgaon under lockdown, so far at least 19 districts are placed under total lockdown with 25 more districts now only partially shut down.
Police said that in the cities the main thoroughfares were easily maintained with limited movements of people and vehicles, but alleyways became real concerns as some residents get out of their homes and gather for unnecessary gossiping and shopping.
Imposition of total lockdown in many of the affected areas in the capital has also been lax as people were seen roaming around those areas and many shops also remained open exposing people to further risk of infections.
Police said that they were trying to enforce the lockdown regulations, but people often ignored their request and instructions.
The imposition of night shutdown, enforced from Saturday amid various other steps to curb coronavirus spread, was more successful.
Many people, however, were seen at Kataban, Farmnate, Karwan Bazar, Green Road, Palashi area of the capital on Saturday night defying lockdown instructions and most of them gave the excuse of going to hospitals or pharmacies. Some said that they had to walk as no transports were available.
Earlier on Friday, the government put a ban on public movements outside their homes from 6.00pm to 6.00am across the country and extended the ongoing general holiday till April 25.
Dhaka and neighbouring Narayanganj are identified by the IEDCR as the most vulnerable and affected areas while around 70 roads and neighbourhoods in the capital are already under lockdown.
Law enforcers, however, complained that unnecessary gatherings and public movements in the morning in alleyways and in the kitchen markets were cause for concerns.
DMP commissioner Shafiqul Islam told New Age that people in the affected areas were not following lockdown instructions and police had to remain patrolling the areas to enforce them.
‘We have been in discussion with locals in the affected areas and asked them to form volunteer groups who would help police to enforce lockdown,’ Shafiqul said.
Mobgbazar’s Chariman Goli, Wari’s Ranking Street, Hair Street, Bangsal’s Old Mogholtuli Road, Mohammadpur’s Razia Sultana Road are among many COVID-19 affected areas and the police have lockdown those areas immediate after detection of infections.
A visit to these areas on Saturday revealed that the lockdown could easily be breached by any outsider.
Anyone could easily enter these areas to see how the locals were roaming around while shops remained open and in some alleyways vehicle movements were seen.
A couple was infected recently at Mogbazar’s Chariman Goli and were taken to a hospital. The building owner said that police asked the locals to maintain lockdown, but many were ignoring the instructions and people were seen strolling around.
Bangsal police assistant sub-inspector Babul Shikder was guarding COVID-19-hit Old Mogholtuli Road where outsiders were trying to enter and a considerable number of locals were also found outside their homes.
Babul said that they were facing difficulties to keep people confined to their homes as they were giving many excuses for getting out.
Meanwhile, the efforts of authorities in selling subsidised rice and other necessary commodities have increased the risk of further infections as crowds throng such selling points and social distancing is hardly maintained.
Trading Corporation of Bangladesh’s selling outlets at Mirpur-10, Bangsal, Sutrapur and Hazaribagh drew huge customers, who crowded together defying social distancing norms. No cops were seen at these outlets to maintain such norms.
When approached, commerce secretary Jafor Uddin said police gave them the excuse of manpower crises and they had to continue running the selling points without the presence of cops.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police on Saturday instructed that all kitchen markets and super shops must be closed by 5:00pm in the afternoon.
The instruction came as the government introduced countywide ban on public movement outside their residences from 6.00pm in the evening to 6.00am in the morning.
Neighbourhood stores for essential goods would remain open until 2:00pm, said a DMP press release, which added that all kinds of pharmacies would fall outside the purview of the shutdown.
DMP commissioner Shafiqul Islam said that they were taking all kinds of measures to curtail unnecessary movements.
Meanwhile, New Age correspondent in Thakurgaon reported that Haripur upazila is put under lockdown as a huge number of people returned from different coronavirus-hit districts.
Brahmanbaria correspondent reported that the district administration has put entire district under lockdown.
Brahmanbaria deputy commissioner Hayat-ud-Daula Khan said entries or exits have been sealed and all sorts of regional and national transports through highways and waterways were suspended until further notice.
But emergency services will remain open, he added.
