With four days to Eid-ul-Fitr, the biggest religious festival for Muslims, shopping malls, super markets and vendors on pavements in Dhaka are witnessing a severe crowd of shoppers amid the detection of a double-mutant Indian variant of coronavirus in Bangladesh.
The health guidelines issued by the government remained mostly ignored in the crowded shopping districts of the capital.
At Bashundhara City shopping complex, New Market, Mukto Bangla Shopping Complex and Mirpur New Super Market, a large number of shoppers were seen ignoring the health guidelines amid the lockdown imposed by the government to curb the spread of the second wave of Covid-19 infections.
The showroom of Easy Fashion at Mirpur New Super Market at Mirpur 1 was full of customers and the shop staff and buyers were paying no heed to the health guidelines. The shop manager Imran refused to make any comment in this regard.
“Presence of customers is increasing than recent past but our sales are not up to the mark compared with the previous year’s Eid sales. We are hopeful for better business in the next few days before Eid,” said Maruf Hasan, operation manager at clothing brand Infinity.
“We strictly follow the health guidelines in our showroom from the first day of resumption of business after a strict lockdown. When customers visit our showroom without masks, we provide them with free mask on our own,” he added.
“Markets should remain open till midnight every day before Eid. If the government extends the time, more customers would be able to visit our showrooms after Iftar,” said Sheikh Mainul Hasan Hemel, manager of the clothing shop Milan at Mirpur.
“We have 14 showrooms across the country including Dhaka. Currently, 13 staff are working here. We all are trying to follow the health safety amid the pandemic,” he added.
He also said that the demand for kids' clothes is higher than other products.
HM Mridul, store manager at a Bata shoe store in Mirpur, said, “Our staff are passing a busy time now. From last Friday, our sales increased ahead of Eid. We are following health guidelines strictly in our showroom after the pandemic hits.”
Clothing brand Cats Eye’s customer relation and management officer Md Jahidul Islam said that their sales were better now. “Our panjabis are in high demand ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr. We are now offering a 20 per cent discount on our various products to boost our sale,” he said.
Aminul Islam Shaheen, president of New Market Shop Owners’ Association, said that they had 541 shops in their association. “All our shops are strictly following health rules. Unfortunately, traders who illegally occupy the footpath are mainly responsible for flouting health guidelines,” he said.
He was of the opinion that law enforcement agencies, especially the police, should take required measures to prevent overcrowding in the area.
Besides, both the salespeople and customers should also remain aware and act to prevent the Covid-19 infections, he added.
Md Ruhul Furkan Siddique, professor of public health and informatics at Jahangirnagar University, said, “Bangladesh can face hard times like India if the people are not aware of Covid-19 infection. Many people willingly ignore health guidelines in the shops and malls all over the country, this is very disappointing for us.”
The government earlier on May 3 decided to extend the ongoing lockdown that started on April 5 until May 16, aiming at curbing Covid-19 spread across the country. Besides, as per the government decision, intra-district public transport services will be allowed to resume from May 6.
