Workers continue to enter Dhaka in thousands amid a ‘loose’ lockdown
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Sunday
August 14, 2022

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
SUNDAY, AUGUST 14, 2022
Workers continue to enter Dhaka in thousands amid a ‘loose’ lockdown

Covid-19 in Bangladesh

TBS Report
02 August, 2021, 10:25 pm
Last modified: 02 August, 2021, 10:38 pm

Related News

  • Dhaka warehouse blast: Death toll rises to 8
  • Where do all the city buses sleep at night?
  • Dhaka Kendra: One man’s dream of preserving Dhaka’s rich history 
  • Hiked fares, shortage of public transport make Dhaka commuters suffer
  • B Latin: A weekend respite for corporate employees

Workers continue to enter Dhaka in thousands amid a ‘loose’ lockdown

Over three dozen launches, full of passengers, arrived at Sadarghat from different southern districts

TBS Report
02 August, 2021, 10:25 pm
Last modified: 02 August, 2021, 10:38 pm
Workers continue to enter Dhaka in thousands amid a ‘loose’ lockdown

Streets in Dhaka were packed on Monday - the 11th day of the ongoing strict lockdown - with long queues of vehicles as thousands of people from all over the country continued to enter the capital city.

Following the opening of export-oriented factories on 1 August, people have been entering Dhaka in hundreds of thousands. Many were forced to walk hundreds of miles with no available public transport due to a nationwide lockdown. However, a small number of long-distance buses and launches operated on Monday, bringing workers to the city from all over the country. Over three dozen launches, full of passengers, arrived at Sadarghat from different southern districts, including Barishal.

Besides, most shops, except shopping malls, in the city were open for business on the day.

Roads in Dhaka have begun to get busier as the two-week-long nationwide lockdown nears its end and factories began to reopen after the Eid-ul-Adha holidays. Gabtali, Jatrabari and Sadarghat, the entrances to the capital, were crowded with Dhaka-bound passengers on Monday. But with no public transport on the road inside the city, many had to use rickshaws, vans and motorcycles to reach their destinations, paying high fares. Hundreds of others walked.

Some rickshaw vans were seen charging Tk200 per person to take passengers to Gulistan from Gabtoli. 

Passenger pressure has continued to increase in the Shimulia-Banglabazar route on Monday with thousands of passengers from the south-western part of the country crossing the Padma River on launches and ferries bound for Dhaka, ignoring government-imposed restrictions.

However, the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) closed down the route at 12pm.

Safayet Ahmed, manager (Commerce), Shimulia Ghat, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC), said nine of the 17 ferries on the Shimulia-Banglabazar route have been operating since Monday morning. Passenger pressure was much higher than the last two days.

Dhaka's Sadarghat also saw a surge in passengers on the day with 37 launches from different parts of the country arriving at the launch terminal by 10 am, according to Joynal Abedin, joint director of BIWTA.

Few buses were seen taking in passengers bound to go Mirpur, Jatrabari and Gazipur. A small number of CNG-powered autorickshaws also plied the road with many charging three times more fare than usual.

The lack of transportation has been adding to the sufferings of office-goers in the city as well.

Sirajul Islam, an employee of a Uttara-based company, said he had to wait for an hour in the Mogbazar intersection to get an affordable ride to his office on Monday morning.

Rickshaws were charging Tk400 to go Abdullahpur from Mogbazar, he said. 

Meanwhile, factory workers at Sreepur upazila of Gazipur blocked a highway on Monday morning for an hour to protest against the transport crisis. Other workers and ordinary passengers on the highway suffered. The protest on Dhaka-Mymensingh highway at 2 No. C&B Bazar in Sreepur municipal area from 8 am to 9 am caused a 2km long traffic jam. The protest was later disbanded by police.

Besides, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has arrested 345 people for allegedly roaming around the capital in violating lockdown rules.

Also, mobile courts in the city have fined 135 people Tk 1,89,800 on the day for lockdown rules violation, according to officials. 

The DMP traffic department has fined the owners of 366 vehicles Tk8,24,500.

Top News

Dhaka / workers / lockdown

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Excess liquidity Tk2 lakh cr again but banks have little in hand
    Excess liquidity Tk2 lakh cr again but banks have little in hand
  • An Israeli police office inspects the bus that was targeted by gunmen. Photo: BBC
    Several injured in Jerusalem shooting
  • Rising egg prices hit low-income people’s protein intake
    Rising egg prices hit low-income people’s protein intake

MOST VIEWED

  • Photo: Collected
    No death from Covid-19 in 24 hours
  • Photo: Collected
    2 Covid deaths, 218 cases reported in 24hrs
  • Photo: Courtesy
    US supports Bangladesh’s pediatric Covid-19 vaccination campaign
  • Photo: Collected
    Bangladesh logs 1 death, 214 Covid cases in 24 hours
  • Photo: Rajib Dhar/TBS
    Children 5-11 in age get first Covid vaccine shot
  • Representational image. Picture: Collected
    16 children to get trial Covid jabs on Thursday

Related News

  • Dhaka warehouse blast: Death toll rises to 8
  • Where do all the city buses sleep at night?
  • Dhaka Kendra: One man’s dream of preserving Dhaka’s rich history 
  • Hiked fares, shortage of public transport make Dhaka commuters suffer
  • B Latin: A weekend respite for corporate employees

Features

Toes and talons of Shikra. Photo; Enam Ul Haque

Shikra: A leopard with wings!

21h | Panorama
Photo: Noor-A-Alam

Around the world in 10 days: A chance to taste global cuisines

20h | Food
Lobbyists float ludicrous arguments to prevent tobacco control act amendment

Lobbyists float ludicrous arguments to prevent tobacco control act amendment

23h | Panorama
Will US-China tensions boil over?

Will US-China tensions boil over?

21h | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Eggs are selling at record prices

Eggs are selling at record prices

11h | Videos
Dollar price increase affecting Karnaphuli tunnel construction

Dollar price increase affecting Karnaphuli tunnel construction

12h | Videos
Climate crisis a blessing in disguise to them

Climate crisis a blessing in disguise to them

13h | Videos
Growing rice crisis shows how important food self-sufficiency is for Bangladesh

Growing rice crisis shows how important food self-sufficiency is for Bangladesh

14h | Videos

Most Read

1
Dollar crisis: BB orders removal of 6 banks’ treasury chiefs 
Banking

Dollar crisis: BB orders removal of 6 banks’ treasury chiefs 

2
Photo: Collected
Transport

Will Tokyo’s traffic model solve Dhaka’s gridlocks?

3
Representational Image. Photo: Collected
Bangladesh

Air passengers should plan extra commute time to airport: DMP

4
Arrest warrant against Habib Group chairman, 4 others 
Crime

Arrest warrant against Habib Group chairman, 4 others 

5
File Photo: State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid
Energy

All factories to remain closed once a week under rationing system

6
Ambassador of Switzerland to Bangladesh Nathalie Chuard. Photo: Courtesy
Bangladesh

Bangladesh never asked for particular info from Swiss bank: Ambassador

EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2022
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net