The Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives (LGRD) Minister Md Tazul Islam urged local administrations to rejuvenate different committees, formed earlier to distribute relief and for other purposes, to impose lockdown properly.
As per a statement, the minister made the call on Friday while delivering a speech in a virtual meeting on the current situation of the coronavirus pandemic in the country and the progress of area-based lockdown implementation, reports BSS.
“The committees, comprising UNOs, upazila chairmen, union parishad chairmen, and others concerned, were formed by the respective deputy commissioners at different times to distribute relief and for other purpose,” said the minister.
“Imposing lockdown will be more effective if these committees are activated again,” he added.
Presided over by Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque, the meeting was attended by Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Information and Communication Technology State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Public Administration State Minister Farhad Hossain, Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Atiqul Islam and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh.
High officials of district administrations were also present at the meeting.
The government earlier decided to divide different areas of the country into three zones—red, yellow and green—based on the intensity of coronavirus infection, to limit the spread of the deadly disease.
The decision was taken on June 1 in a high-level meeting at the Cabinet Division at the secretariat.
According to the plan, strict lockdown will be imposed in the red zones to control further spread of the coronavirus, aiming to reduce the number of patients until it turns into a yellow zone.
Some restrictions also will be applicable for yellow zones, with a view to turning them into green zones.
The minister said the authorities concerned must ensure some facilities—home delivery for essential items like food and medicines, distributing food to lower income groups, ambulance service, isolation centre, coronavirus test booths, and burial facilities—before implementing the total lockdown in red zones.