No long-distance bus was allowed to leave or enter capital Dhaka on Tuesday as the government enforced tougher restrictions in an effort to beat the deadly Coronavirus.
As many people were not aware about the suspension of the bus services on long routes, they thronged Gabtoli, Syedabad and Abdullahpur bus terminals on Tuesday morning to catch buses to reach their destinations.
Some of them returned home after a long wait and some others were seen looking for alternative vehicles to move to their destinations.
Also read: Bus services resume in Bangladesh cities
The decision to suspend the bus services was taken on Monday night after announcing a strict lockdown in seven adjacent districts of Dhaka to stop the transmission of Coronavirus amid rising infections in different districts, as it is believed to have been caused by Delta variant.
The districts are Narayanganj, Gazipur, Munshiganj, Manikganj, Madaripur, Rajbari and Gopalganj districts.
Akhter Hossain, traffic inspector at Uttara's Rajlakkhi, said Gazipur is one of the seven districts where lockdown has been enforced. No long-route bus left the city for Mymensingh and neither one came from that district.
Also read: Govt mulls resuming public transport services
AC (traffic-Dasus Salam) Iftekharul Islam said as Manikganj district has gone under lockdown, no bus from the southern part of the country neither entered nor left Dhaka. Only the movement of vehicles providing emergency services is allowed.
AC (traffic-Jatrabari) Tariqul Islam Masud said the movement of long-route buses on Dhaka-Mawa highway remained halted since Tuesday as Munsiganj district is under lockdown.
The movement of long-route buses on Dhaka-Chattogram highway remained halted as Narayanganj went under lockdown.
The lockdown in the seven districts will remain in force until June 30 midnight.
However, emergency services like transportation of agricultural equipment and inputs (seeds, fertilizer, insecticides, agri-machinery), crops, food items, relief activities, health services, Covid-19 vaccination, water, power, gas, fire service, port activities, telephone, internet services, mass media (electronic and print), private security services, postal services and offices related to emergency services, their employees, vehicles will remain out of the purview of the restrictions, says an official circular issued in this regard.