Published in: The Daily Star

Date: 20 May 2020

The district administration on Monday again shut down all shops and markets in Pabna for an indefinite period after finding gross violations of safe physical distancing and health safety measures that it made prerequisites for reopening the shops and markets on May 10.

The decision came around 4:00pm on Monday when people thronged the markets and shops in Pabna town and elsewhere in the district, ignoring all precautionary measures being recommended by the authorities to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

However, shops selling daily essentials and medicines will be out of the purview of the decision.

Kabir Mahamud, the deputy commissioner of Pabna, said, “The shops and markets were allowed to resume operations on a small scale from May 10, on the condition that social distancing measures would be maintained. But nobody seems to care about it.

“We asked business owners and the general public to maintain social distance, but no one complied. Therefore, we have decided to close the markets again. We already made announcements about the closure of the shops and markets.”

There are hardly any people seen on streets in an ordinary morning during the month of Ramadan in the country. However, around nine o’clock in the morning this Monday, hoards of shoppers crowded the shops in Pabna town to buy popular items on the occasion of the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the largest festivals for Muslims.

During a visit that day in New Market area, this correspondent did not notice any safety measures taken by any shop owner or market authorities.

The shoppers were also found least concerned about the looming threat of the highly contagious pandemic that has been wreaking havoc all over the world for the most part of this year.

Since the shops were to close by 4:00pm, the crowd of shoppers continued to grow till the last minute.

When asked, Nasrin Mita, an Eid shopper, said like most other shoppers, she and her family members came to the market in the morning because shopping hours were restricted till 4:00pm.

Shopkeeper Abul Bashar, in Natun Goli area of the town, said the markets were crowded as all the shoppers were rushing to finish their shopping within 4:00pm.

He also said the shop owners will incur huge losses due to the sudden decision of closure of the shops.

Contacted, ABM Fazlur Rahman, director of Pabna Chamber of Commerce and Industries, said before reopening their businesses, shop owners and market authorities had agreed to the condition that they would ensure physical distancing and health safety measures for shoppers as well as for their employees.

But after they failed to ensure the measures amid a huge pressure of shoppers, the district administration had to close them down again, he added.

Source:

https://www.thedailystar.net/country/news/shops-markets-closed-indefinitely-again-1904179