The government has decided to allow shops and malls to remain open till 4pm from Sunday for Eid-ul-Fitr, maintaining health guidelines amid the coronavirus lockdown.
Only grocery shops and medicine shops in the capital can presently remain open until 4pm. But in most areas in Dhaka city, the scenario is different.
Dhaka Tribune correspondents visited Dhanmondi, Mohammadpur, Shantinagar, Malibag, Rampura, Banasree, Karwan Bazar, Mirpur, and some other areas of the capital.
Most shopkeepers have opened their shops, violating government orders. Authorities concerned said they are taking actions against those who are not following the directions.
Jewellers and tailors meeting orders in Mirpur
All kinds of shops were open in the city's Shewrapara, Mirpur including sanitary, jewellers, tailors, and photocopy shops.
Abu Taher, proprietor of Shorna Jewellers’ at East Shewrapara said: “My family will die of starvation if my shop remains closed.”
Md Kamruzzaman, the owner of Nobojug Tailors, said: "There is no food in my house. If I deliver some products before Eid which were ordered earlier, I will be able to manage some food for my family.”
Grocers not following health guidelines at Banasree
Most grocers were found not following the health guidelines.
Their answers echoed the same concerns and sufferings as the ones before.
Shopkeepers said if they don't open shops and sell products, then their families will suffer.
Abdul Matin, a resident of Banasree, said: “Actually health safety depends on the people.”
He said, 10am to 2pm is the peak hour to buy and sell groceries. However, sometimes police come from Rampura police station and try to stop public gatherings.
Hardware and electric shops open in Shantinagar
Shantinagar and Malibagh area kitchen markets are allowed to open, however, all other types of shops such as electronics and electricals, hardware, recharging, and bedding shops are also found open.
People were seen shopping without maintaining any social distance.
Our correspondent witnessed that most shopkeepers kept their doors half-closed, and were dealing with customers who stood outside the shops.
When police patrolled the area, shopkeepers closed their shutters and remained inside or around the shops and waited until they left.
Seeking anonymity, a hardware shop owner said that they are facing a serious financial problem. They said they need to open the shops to help their family survive amid the lockdown.
The shopkeeper also said that he is the only earning member of his family of five, and there were a lot of shopkeepers in the market like him.
Maximum shops of Mohammadpur reopened
Most of the shops have been reopened in Mohammadpur's Nurjahan road, Bashbari, Mohammadia Housing area, despite the area being one of the highly Covid-19 affected areas in the city.
Electronics, sanitary products, salons, and even stationery and book shops, were found open yesterday.
Several owners and employees of the shops were wearing face masks. They told Dhaka Tribune that they opened the shops taking protective measures and were not allowing customers to come in close physical contact.
However, rickshaw pullers found some relief as they had more customers yesterday than other days during lockdown in Mohammadpur area.
Safatullah, a rickshaw puller living at Nobodoy Housing, said as many people were coming out, he earned four times more than the day before.
He said: “For the first time since the crisis, I am going to buy something for my family. We will eat well today.”
Tea stalls reopened under a veil at Modhubag
At the beginning of the lockdown tea stalls across the city were closed. But after a few days, most shops started to open under a closed shutter in Modhubag area.
Nowadays they were found to be fully operational, only covering under a veil due to the month of Ramadan as a show of respect as usual.
A tea stall owner of Modhubag told Dhaka Tribune that most rickshaw pullers of the area are not able to live a healthy life.
“They used to sleep together in congested tiny rooms at night. During the lockdown, most of them were sitting at home and they requested me to open the tea stall so that they could pass some time chatting and having cups of tea,” he said.
Shopkeepers returning to Dhaka
Bangladesh has been under lockdown from March 26 and the period of closure has been extended several times since — most recently until May 16 — as the number of coronavirus cases and deaths continued to surge.
When the lockdown started, a number of shopkeepers who were from outside Dhaka went to their native homes, but after the announcement of shops reopening on May 10, many have started to return to Dhaka.
A tailor from the Rampura supermarket told Dhaka Tribune that he has come from his native home on Wednesday as he has to get ready to open his shop before the Eid.
Shopkeepers dissatisfied with government allocated incentives
Expressing dissatisfaction over not getting a share of the government’s allocated incentive, they cited the lack of relief as a major concern behind opening shops before the scheduled time.
The proprietor of Tusher Electric Works, located at Keary Plaza in Dhanmondi 15, told Dhaka Tribune: “We are compelled to open the shops amid the lockdown, violating the government's decision of reopening on May 10.”
“We couldn’t earn a single penny since the lockdown from March 26. We have families and have to earn a livelihood for all,” he added.
What are the authorities saying?
Regarding this matter, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner (media) Masudur Rahman told Dhaka Tribune that, as per the rules, daily necessities, grocery shops, kitchen markets and medicine stores are allowed to keep open.
However, we are taking action if other shops are open violating the rules and without following the health rules and maintaining social distance.
Both Dhaka city corporations (DSCC and DNCC) have started mobile courts as many shops have already opened, violating the health guidelines.
Chief Estate Officer of DSCC Russel Sabrin said: “Shops and malls can be kept open from May 10 following the government’s instruction. We will take legal actions against those who don’t follow the government’s instruction and health guidelines.”
“If shops or malls are opened before May 10, the owners will face punishment as per the law,” he added.
“We have already started mobile courts over this matter,” he further said.
Our correspondents Shohel Mamun, Arifur Rahman Rabbi, Kamrul Hasan, Mehedi Al Amin, Mamun Abdullah, Fahim Reza Shovon, and Sanaul Islam Tipu contributed in this report
