The pandemic has had a damaging impact on both urban and rural Bangladesh -- while many lost their jobs in cities and returned to their native villages, households after households plunged into poverty in the countryside. Since the imposition of the first lockdown in 2020, closures of small businesses like grocery shops in the rural and semi-rural areas have meant less income available for families. Covid-induced supply chain disruptions reduced farm outputs, hitting hard the farmers and those running agri enterprises. Read: Govt to widen social safety coverage to protect poor from pandemic loss In fact, for many households in Bangladesh, Covid wiped out their entire life savings -- many tucked into their financial cushion to ensure two square meals a day for their families and cover the basic healthcare expenses. The financial aid by the government indeed helped, but helped a little only. As health experts warn of an imminent third wave of Covid, economists say that a large chunk of small traders across rural Bangladesh and the erstwhile middle-class (who migrated back from cities) have been hit hard by the pandemic-induced liquidity crunch. According to Prof Mustafizur Rahman of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, a large portion of the population above the poverty line in rural Bangladesh -- the middle-class -- has fallen below the economic marker. "They are now among the marginalised population or the 'new poor'," he said.