Police on Wednesday closed Sunrise Bhaban, a multi-storey shopping mall in Elephant Road, Dhaka, for failing to follow the health directives — a condition for reopening businesses amid the ongoing lockdown — aimed to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Additional Commissioner (Ramna zone) HM Azimul Haque confirmed the matter and said the market was closed down around 12:30pm.
He said: “We are doing regular monitoring and visiting markets. We requested Sunrise Bhaban market authority to follow the directives and rules and install disinfectant spray tunnel for the last two days.
“But they did not take appropriate action to install the tunnel. That's why Sunrise Bhaban has been closed for public safety and to prevent the coronavirus from spreading.”
Azimul said that the market authorities or traders will be able to reopen if disinfected spray tunnels were installed and the health rules as per government guidelines were followed.
Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, in which 269 people have already died in Bangladesh, the government recently allowed the opening of markets and shops with a number of conditions from May 10 until the Eid-ul-Fitr.
However, in most places, buyers and sellers appeared not to follow the rules. As a result, many including experts think that the crisis will worsen day by day.
DMP on Tuesday also closed down a number of shopping malls, markets and shops, including Bongo Bazar, in different areas of the capital for violating the conditions for reopening businesses.
Local administrations in Manikganj and Tangail also closed down all shopping malls and businesses in the districts on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, as the shops and people, in general, failed to maintain the rules.