lockdown
Faridpur violence: 48-yr-old accused dies in police custody
A 48-year-old man arrested in connection with the April 5 violence in Saltha upazila of Faridpur, died in police custody on Saturday morning.
The deceased was identified as Abul Hossain Molla, 48.
While the district police claimed that Adul died of a stroke, his family members attributed his death to torture by cops.
Faridpur Sadar Hospital’s in-charge Dr Tofazzal Hossain said, "Police brought the body of Abul Hossain to the medical facility around 6am. The cause of his death can be confirmed only after an autopsy."
Also read: 1 dead, 20 injured in Faridpur violence: Police Super
Faridpur police superintendent Md. Alimujjaman said, “Abul Hossain was found lying on the bathroom floor around 5.30am. We suspect he died of a stroke."
A four-member probe panel has been formed to investigate the death, he said. "The committee has been asked to submit a report within 24 hours."
Abul's daughter Taniya Aktar, however, claimed that his father was innocent. "He wasn’t involved in any village politics. We demand a free and fair investigation and justice for my father's death."
Abul Hossain was arrested on April 16 for his alleged involvement in the violent clashes with police on April 5.
On April 28, the court of Faridpur judicial magistrate Faruk Hossain allowed a police plea to take Abul in their custody for five days for interrogation.
Also read: 8 held, 4k booked over Faridpur violence
On April 5, rumours of killing and arrests triggered the clashes between police and locals in Saltha on the first day of lockdown. The violence saw thousands of people vandalising and torching government establishments.
Few offices and houses of government officials were set on fire by locals during the mayhem that continued from 8 pm to 11 pm that night.
The violence left a young man dead and 20 people, including eight policemen, injured.
Extended lockdown: 10am to 1 pm banking hours to continue
Bangladesh Bank has further extended the currently maintained limited banking transaction hours until May 5 in compliance with the government’s decision to extend the strict lockdown for one week more.
According to a Bangladesh Bank circular, issued on Wednesday, the current banking transactions hours from 10 am to 1 pm will continue till May 5 in accordance with the Cabinet Division’s memo on this matter.
Earlier, Bangladesh Bank in a circular on April 13 said, instructed the banks to operate general transactions from 10 am to 1 pm and keep open until 2:30 pm for necessary works every working day until April 21 and then it was extended until April 28.
Normally, banks operate from 10 am to 4 pm everyday.
Also read: Bangladesh extends lockdown until May 5
The new circular also said that all other instructions will remain unchanged as per the circular of April 13 where it was said that banks can keep one non-AD branch open within 2 km radius in the city corporation areas and in upazila level one branch of each bank can open on Thursday, Sunday and Tuesday.
The banks have to take measures to provide transport facilities for the staff during the period.
The BB circular also said, during the banking transaction hours, the banks have to ensure different kinds of services including clearing of cheques, withdrawal and deposits of money, money transfer, release of remittance, encashment of different instruments and also receipt of the payments of bills of different utilities.
BB said banks have to continue services like disbursement of loans, incentives, payment of salaries of different industries and also the purchase of export bills, loan sanction and distribution.
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh sees 77 deaths, new cases 2,955
The banks have to follow instructions in keeping the branches located in the port areas about the coronavirus in discussion with the local administration and other authorities, as per circular issued on August 5 last year, it said.
The banks have to operate their activities through limited staffs under a roster system.
They have to ensure operation of the ATM booths to facilitate transaction through cards by supply of adequate cash in the machines while the evening banking and weekly holiday banking activities will remain closed until further order, said the circular, said the circular issued on April 13.
As lockdown eases, people find their way around restrictions
Although the government in a fresh move extended the ongoing lockdown period from April 28 to May 5, the gradual easing of the lockdown conditions has been accompanied by people in the capital becoming more inclined to move about.
A rapid increase in Covid infections prompted the government to enforce a lockdown from early April which failed to achieve the intended result.
Later, the government went for a strict lockdown from April 11 and extended it to April 28.
Also read: Lockdown to be extended up to May 5: State Minister
On Monday, State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain said the lockdown would be extended till May 5 as there is no improvement of the Covid-19 situation.
However, shopping malls opened this week and will remain open from 10am to 8pm during the extended period, he said.
Parts of Dhaka presented the old picture of congestion and chaos on Tuesday, even as the country reported 78 more coronavirus-related deaths and 3,031 new cases of Covid-19.
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh records 78 deaths, 3,031 new cases
A UNB photojournalist captured the scenes around the busy Gulistan area on the day.
Adherence to lockdown in capital appears mixed
People are not responding seriously to the government announced strong restriction on movement from April 14 though the second wave is more deadly and dangerous.
Visiting different parts of the city, including kitchen markets and shopping malls, our correspondent found people moving about as usual.
Visiting the kitchen markets of Jatrabari and Shanir Akhra, a huge number of people were seen gathered to collect their essential products and daily needs while the crowd had turned big before the Iftar time.
Also read: Lockdown to be extended up to May 5: State Minister
A long queue of people was also seen selling Iftar items around the city.
A visitor Dulal Sikder told UNB that he came out of his house everyday to collect Iftar items for his family members, as it is like a tradition for him to take food from the restaurant and makeshift shops during Ramadan.
"I know it is risky to go out and stay at any gathering point during this pandemic. But this gives a little relief for my family members as they fast the whole day. I try to maintain health guidelines and wear mask wherever I go," he said.
In the kitchen market, most of the buyers and sellers were not keen to wear masks and use sanitizers.
But shopping malls such as Ayesha Shopping Mall and RS Shopping Complex in the Jatrabari area appeared quite aware of the health protocols and most people were using their mask.
Kazi Suman, an owner of a clothing shop, said they were not happy or satisfied with the number of buyers as they are unable to sell their products as per their expectations in Ramadan, the highest selling month of the year.
Also read: Lockdown climbdown: 10am-9pm for shopping confirmed
People are not coming as restrictions on public transport are still going on. Some also collect their dresses from the online shops as they feel unsafe to come at this time, he said.
Although the government announced a nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, it has no effect on the roads in Gulistan, one of the busiest points of the city, as CNG, motorbikes, private cars and even public buses were found running.
Lockdown to be extended up to May 5: State Minister
The government has decided to extend the current lockdown by another week until May 5 as there is no improvement in sight in the Covid-19 situation.
A notification in this regard is expected to be issued on Tuesday, said State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain.
Also read:Lockdown: Shops, shopping malls to reopen from Apr 25
However, shopping malls will remain open from 10 am to 8 pm during the lockdown, he said.
The decision has been taken considering the global Covid situation and the suggestions of health experts, said the state minister.
Digital Commerce Policy, Lockdown, Eid: Perfect storm for e-commerce?
As city markets remained closed during the strict phase lockdown that entered into force on the very first day of Ramadan, as well as the Bengali New Year on April 14, buyers started moving to online shopping to purchase different items ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, the biggest festival for Muslims.
The business insiders said their sales have immensely boosted thanks to the covid-19 pandemic across the country. Even rural people also move here due to easy accesses and offer prices in different products including essential commodities, home appliances and apparel items.
They also sought the government’s support for the facilitation of uninterrupted e-commerce services throughout the country.
According to the e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB), the sales of products through the digital platforms went up 70 percent year-on-year in 2020 thanks to the pandemic. More than 160,000 deliveries are made in a single day in the country.
Read Online shopping boomed but many falling prey to fraudsters
General Secretary of e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB) Abdul Wahed Tomal said they have around 1,500 members. Consumers purchased around Tk 3,000 crore worth of commodities for their daily necessities in the last eight months of 2020.
“A new dimension has been created in the online business in Bangladesh following the pandemic. Though people can’t purchase desirable products ahead of Eid in festive mode as their income came down,” he also told UNB.
Tomal added that a good number of entrepreneurs has been created in the last one year, as many youths couldn’t join in jobs and many had been laid off.
“There are now around 500,000 (5 lakh) Facebook entrepreneurs here. Rural based many entrepreneurs have also made thanks to digital advancement. However, buyers are now uncertain following the lockdown whether the markets will be opened or not ahead of Eid,” he said.
Read Potential of e-commerce hemmed in by bottlenecks
He also said consumers are now purchasing essential commodities and Iftar items from online platforms. They will start to buy the Eid products from next week. Actually people are not now in festive mode to purchase products to enjoy. They also avoided buying Pahela Baishakh items. A rash of buying of products will begin soon.
“Though we get some fraud related allegations from consumers. But we are dealing with the government and traders to resolve the problems,” Tomal added.
Managing Director and CEO of E-valy.com Limited Mohammad Rassel said online shopping is getting popular in Bangladesh day by day. “Our order volume has got higher than earlier. It’s almost twice the previous year. We can’t reveal the exact order number. But in particular products, orders get higher in lockdown period than normal days. Now almost 40% orders are being generated out of Dhaka city. The number was around 20% before pandemic,” he added.
Rassel said they are getting higher orders related to Eid products including fashion items. “For delivery, we have a target to deliver them as soon as possible after successful order placement. We are delivering our products within 2 days. In some cases, it might take some extra time. Whatever, we have been working to deliver Eid products before the Eid,” he also added.
Read 'E-commerce market will be $3 billion big by 2023'
The E-valy chief said during lockdown, the main problem is to source products and deliver them at customers’ doorstep. Because maximum shops are shut and delivery service providers are often challenged by law enforcement agencies. So it is a big challenge now.
“The government is doing great for the boosting of e-commerce industry. We appreciate that they have already recognised this sector. In addition to that government is coming up with a law very soon. We hope that such law will bring benefits for e-commerce platforms, sellers and customers and mostly to the entire industry,” he added.
Talking to UNB, Shayantani Twisha, head of PR, media and communications at Daraz Bangladesh Limited said on a year-to-year basis, the order numbers have always increased exponentially. But in the last year of the pandemic, they have witnessed a new segment of people migrating to the e-commerce platform, leading to Daraz having 3-times more orders than the corresponding previous period in 2020.
“Eid has always been a festive season for us, one which promises a lot of shopping! Even amidst the strict lockdowns, we are going to deliver products within the promised delivery timeline, to any corner of the country,” she added.
Read Boom in e-shopping ahead of Eid - United News of Bangladesh
Asked to identify some bottlenecks in Covid times, Twisha said they have to face "specific area wise lockdowns" imposed by local residents. "Also, during the lockdown, some aspect of the supply chain gets disrupted for which it gets difficult to deliver within the timeline," she also added.
Sakina Begum, a resident of Maniknagar said she purchased different products including daily essentials from online shopping in the pandemic period. “Though, I have to wait for long days to get the products after ordering, I don’t have to leave home, that’s my benefit,” she added.
The Vice President of Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) SM Nazer Hossain said the sector is rising potentially in Bangladesh but consumers are suffering too.
“We receive huge allegations from consumers. Of them, 80 percent allegations come from e-commerce platforms. After getting the allegations, we call the number but get off. Actually they fraud with consumers in various ways,” he added.
Read Coronavirus bites into online Eid shopping
Nazer said many customers turn away from e-commerce due to hassle by the cheaters. It should be stopped. “More women and silent consumers are harassed more as they don’t want to share the matter with others. So fair business must be ensured to flourish it,” he also added.
He urged e-CAB to cancel members who defraud customers. And the government has to play a significant role to this end.
The Senior Secretary of Commerce Ministry Dr Jafar Uddin said they have already formed a digital commerce cell to implement the digital commerce policy.
“The final work of ‘digital commerce operation guidelines-2021’ is going on. We think to include the entrepreneurs of social media commerce in the guideline. The ministry took various initiatives to boost the sector,” he informed.
Read Bangladesh achieved commendable success in e-commerce
Lockdown climbdown: 10am-9pm for shopping confirmed
Shops and shopping malls will be allowed to remain open from 10am to 9pm instead of earlier-announced 5pm amid the lockdown enforced by the government to contain the transmission of Covid-19.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Md Shariful Islam confirmed the matter.
Earlier on April 23, Cabinet Division issued a notice permitting shops and malls to reopen from April 25 maintaining proper safety protocols.
Also read: Pandemic in Bangladesh: Shops, malls reopen doors
The second phase of lockdown started on April 22 and is supposed to continue until April 28.
Earlier on April 5, public transports, shops and shopping malls were directed to remain shut in capital Dhaka as the country started a 7-day lockdown.
Talking to UNB, local and international health experts, however, predicted Bangladesh is unlikely to see any improvement in the Covid-19 situation before June next as the country is still in the grip of its second wave.
Also read: 'Strict’ lockdown again if health rules violated: Quader
Using a mathematical model, Bangladesh Como Modelling Group, a group of experts from both Bangladesh and Oxford University, also projected that the country will witness the similar infection rate intermittently till the end of May while the situation may improve in June.
Meanwhile, after a slight fall for several days, Bangladesh’s daily coronavirus death toll crossed the 100-mark again on Sunday with a sharp fall in new cases.
Also read: Covid-19 in Bangladesh: Daily deaths shoot past 100; new cases fall dramatically
Fatalities climbed to 11,053 with 101 deaths in the past 24 hours until the morning. The virus also infected 2,922 people, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said in a handout.
Bangladesh has so far confirmed 745,322 coronavirus cases.
'Strict’ lockdown again if health rules violated: Quader
The government will impose a ‘strict’ lockdown again if health safety rules are not followed everywhere, including the public transport, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader warned on Sunday.
Quader, also the general secretary of Awami League, made the remarks at a regular briefing from his residence in the morning.
“When the public transport will be allowed to resume operation after the lockdown, everyone will have to maintain the social-distancing rules strictly,” said the minister.
Also read: Metro train coaches being moved to depot: Quader
On Saturday, Obaidul Quader said the government was planning to resume public transport services once the current ‘strict lockdown’’ is over.
The government is considering the resumption of public transport services in the interest of people on condition that the health guidelines will be followed properly.
Urging everyone to follow health protocols even if the lockdown is relaxed, Quader said the use of masks and hand sanitisers should be made mandatory.
Also read: Quader to BNP: 'Stop paying lip service amid Covid-19'
On March 31, the government raised the fares of all buses, including inter-district ones, by 60 per cent as the vehicles are allowed to carry only half the passengers of the total seats of a bus to ensure social distancing amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Pandemic in Bangladesh: Shops, malls reopen doors
The number of private vehicles, rickshaws and auto-rickshaws marked a significant rise on the roads in the capital on Sunday as the government allowed shops and shopping malls to reopen their doors to shoppers on a limited scale.
The pressure of vehicles on the city streets was reported from areas like Mirpur, Gabtoli, Shyamoli, Uttara and Mohakhali amid the lockdown, which has been extended by another week to deal with the worsening Covid-19 situation.
In a circular on Friday, the government allowed the shops and shopping malls to remain open from 10 am to 5 pm from Sunday, prompting many people to return to the capital city.
People were seen entering the capital on foot through Babu Bazar, Amin Bazar Bridge and Tongi Bridge areas.
Although the movement of rickshaws on the main roads were relatively lower in the morning than the other days, those were found moving in backstreets.
However, no public transport and other city services were seen on the city streets.
The owners and workers of shops, markets and shopping malls were seen busy reopening their doors since 9 am.
Read Extension of lockdown causing anxiety among low income earners
While talking to UNB at Rajlaxmi in Uttara, traffic inspector Akhter Hossain said: “The pressure of vehicles is increasing. But such pressure was not there during the last few days since the enforcement of the strict lockdown on April 14. This is happening following the government’s decision to allow shops and shopping malls to reopen.”
However, the movement of rickshaws was comparatively thinner than the other days, he added.
Another traffic inspector, Asaduzzaman, said: “There has been huge traffic in Mohakhali area since morning and our colleagues (fellow police officers) were asking the public for movement pass at designated check posts.”
Strict lockdown in place since April 14
A surge in coronavirus cases prompted the government to go for an eight-day complete lockdown from April 14. The cabinet division issued a notification in this regard on April 12.
Later, following the shattering situation of Covid-19 cases, the government extended the ongoing lockdown by another week from April 22 to bring the situation under control.
A circular was issued on April 20 extending the ongoing strict lockdown for another week from April 22, aiming to curb the transmission of Covid-19.
Also read: Govt issues circular extending lockdown until April 28
As coronavirus cases continued to rise alarmingly since mid-March, the government imposed a loose nationwide lockdown for one week from April 5 as part of its move to contain its spread. Later, a stricter lockdown was declared from April 14 to 21.
Reopening shops and shopping malls
On April 23, the Cabinet Division issued a notice allowing shops and shopping malls to operate from April 25 (10am-5pm) on the condition that they would maintain proper safety protocols.
The shops and malls are permitted to reopen from April 25 subject to maintaining proper safety protocols, says the notice signed by Deputy Secretary Md Rezaul Islam.
Shops and shopping malls were shut from April 5 with a spurt in covid cases and deaths.
But the shopkeepers and traders waged street protests demanding the reopening of businesses. They argued that they had suffered massive losses last year during the lockdown.
Eid-ul-Fitr is generally the busiest time for businesses but last year’s Eid was celebrated amid the covid outbreak. Businesses had suffered huge losses.
Public transport to resume
On Saturday, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said the government is working on a plan to allow the public transport to resume operations once the current lockdown is over.
On March 29, the government raised the fares of all buses, including inter-district ones, by 60% as the vehicles are allowed to carry only half passengers of the total seats to ensure social distancing amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Covid-19 situation
Bangladesh recorded 83 more Covid-related deaths in 24 hours until Saturday morning, raising the total fatalities to 10,952.
Coronavirus fatalities crossed 10,000 on April 15 and the death tally came close to 11,000 within 10 days as the country finds it hard to deal with the pandemic.
Dhaka’s air quality improved in lockdown, a blessing in disguise!
The air quality of Dhaka city has made a marked improvement by some 45pc on average a day during the first seven days of the Covid-19 lockdown due to the low level of emissions.
According to a survey conducted by Center for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS) of Stamford University Bangladesh, four reasons effectively worked behind the strange improvement in the air quality.
Read Dhaka keeps grappling with ‘hazardous’ air
It said low traffic flow, suspension of road renovation and construction works and lack of activities to burn wastes led to the improvement in the air quality though it is said to be a short-lived gain.
Even the air pollution declined by 70pc in some areas in the city during the April 14-21 period, the survey says.
Read No respite from pollution as Dhaka’s air quality still ‘unhealthy’
The survey was carried out under a project titled “Promoting Democratic Governance and Collective Advocacy for Environmental Protection in Dhaka City” with financial support from USAID and UKAid.
As part of the survey, the air quality was measured using automatic equipment for eight hours a day in 10 areas of the capital.
Also read: Dhaka is world's most polluted city
The measurement showed that the air quality has improved on average 45pc a day from April 14 to 21 last.