The government has enforced a fresh strict lockdown for eight days from Wednesday in an effort to stop the spread of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
Police stop a private car for questioning at a checkpoint in Dhaka on the first day of the weeklong strict lockdown on Wednesday, April 14, 2021 | Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune To ensure that the lockdown is properly enforced and people abide by the Covid health safety restrictions, police in Dhaka have been active on the city streets since Wednesday morning.
A health professional waits for transportation at a Dhaka intersection on Wednesday, April 14, 2021 | Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune They have set up checkpoints at almost every major intersection in Dhaka along with exit and entry points of the capital as roads remained mostly empty. But people with emergency work were seen travelling on the streets.
Police fine motorcyclists for being outside without a logical, valid reason on Wednesday, April 14, 2021 | Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune Meanwhile, "Movement Pass" – a permit that is required to be outside during the lockdown in case of emergency – is also being checked by the police at the different checkpoints and people without one are being sent back home for unnecessary movement.
A man delivering goods using a bicycle on the empty streets of Dhaka on Wednesday, April 14, 2021 | Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune
Most of them, after being questioned by the police, showed medical reasons for being on the streets.
Police stop a car of a private bank’s ATM support for questioning at a checkpoint in Dhaka on Wednesday, April 14, 2021 | Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune Police were seen stopping vehicles, filing cases, fining those who could not give a valid, logical reason to be on the streets in Dhanmondi 27, Russell Square, Kalabagan, Science Lab intersection, Bata Signal, Bangla Motor, and Shahbagh, among other key city points.
A motorcycle rider being forced to stop by a police constable in the middle of the road in Dhaka on Wednesday, April 14, 2021 | Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune All modes of public transports, including those of road, river, railway, and air, are to remain suspended during this lockdown.
Police ask for movement passes and identity cards of people outside on Dhaka streets on Wednesday, April 14, 2021 | Mehedi Hasan/Dhaka Tribune However, the restriction is not effective in the case of carrying goods, emergency services, and production.
Dhaka wears a deserted look with almost no traffic on the first day of the eight day lockdown that began on Wednesday, April 14, 2021 | Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune
All industries and factories have been allowed to continue their operation following health guidelines and the respective industries must take measures to carry their employees in their own vehicles but a few have complied with this directive so far.
An empty Dhaka flyover on Wednesday, April 14, 2021 | Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune
The government was forced to enforce a weeklong stricter lockdown from 6am Wednesday following a record-breaking Covid-19 upsurge across the country in recent weeks.
Virus cases have been rising steeply from the second week of March taking the tally of the total infected to 697,985 and casualties to 9,891, till Tuesday morning.
