Open shops, markets from Aug 6: Traders

Shop owners on Sunday urged the government to open all shops and shopping malls from August 6, after the current spell of lockdown ends.

Nine traders’ organisations claimed that they incurred an accumulated loss of Tk 3,38,000 crore since the coronavirus outbreak in Bangladesh in March last year. The government enforced lockdowns in phases and imposed restrictions on people’s movement after the health authorities reported the first Covid cases in the country in March 2020.

General shops and shopping malls remained shut during the lockdowns.

The sectors employ more than 20 million people, representatives of the organisations told a press conference jointly organised by the Bangladesh Shop Owners Association and eight others at the New Market Shop Owners Association in Dhaka.

Helal Uddin, president of Bangladesh Shop Owners Association, said the lockdown was not the only way to control the spread of Covid-19. “Shops, markets and shopping malls remained closed for around 270 days during the pandemic. Our members incurred a loss of crores of taka during this period,” he told The Business Post.

“Around 5.5 million small and medium enterprises are suffering,” he said. Helal said they could hardly do any business during the festivals since March last year because of the virus outbreak.

“Millions of people involved in the sector will starve if the government does not allow us to reopen,” he said.

Businesses in Bangladesh suffered much during the pandemic that disrupted economic activities. During the initial phase of the virus lockdown, hundreds of thousands of people became jobless, and many businesses had to shut down.

The government lifted the restrictions once the situation improved. It imposed the latest spell strict lockdown after coronavirus infections and deaths soared in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh on Sunday reported 231 new Covid related deaths and 14,844 new cases. The daily infection rate dropped slightly to 29.97 per cent.

The local death tally now stands at 20,916. So far, the health authorities have confirmed 12,64,328 cases.