Dhaka-Bound Mad Rush: Is It Another Mistake or Imprudence?

The massive influx of people heading to Dhaka following the announcement that industries would reopen on Sunday (today) resulted in the lifting of lockdown restrictions in the city on Saturday.

As people from all across the country returned to Dhaka in whatever way they could, the number of people on the streets of the city swelled along with the flow of automobiles.

Despite the fact that public transportation was unavailable, the number of private automobiles, ride-sharing motorbikes, rickshaws, and rickshaw-vans on Dhaka's roadways surged dramatically on Saturday compared to the previous several days.

Thousands of people arrived in Dhaka via Gabtoli Bridge after arriving at Amin Bazaar from all over the country. They walked across the bridge and took a rickshaw, rickshaw-van, or motorcycle to their respective destinations.

When the lockdown was first announced in March 2020, people rushed to the village from the beginning. The uncertainty of staying in Dhaka, not knowing the information about the corona infection - all in all, they consider leaving Dhaka as the only way. Then at least five times they continued coming and going. Every time there was no public transport, people rushed in trucks and ferries. Most of them have suffered due to the decision to close and reopen the garments.

Public health experts say the country has been infected since the beginning because of the inability to stop the flow. They say, once or twice, it is understood that those concerned are failing to cope due to lack of experience. But if the same mistake is made again and again.

However, according to the government, the garment owners are talking about opening the factory on the condition that they will work for the time being with the workers in the vicinity of the factory. Not only this time, in April 2020, the workers were similarly dragged. BGMEA-BKMEA of the service announced that work will be done in certain sections. The remaining factories will be opened in phases. However, despite the pressure from the factory owners, almost all the workers in the villages headed to Dhaka to join the work to reduce the risk of losing their jobs.

This year, people have been discouraged from going out of Dhaka for Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha. But, thousands of people have left the capital and returned, ignoring hygiene everywhere on roads. Although long-distance transport is closed, they are returning to Dhaka in various vehicles. As a result, many people are not able to follow the physical distance or hygiene rules even if they want to.

BGMEA president Farooq Hasan said on Saturday that no BGMEA member was forcing workers to come to the factory. "Not all workers are needed to start a factory," he said. For now, the factory is being set up with those who did not go home during the Eid holidays and with local workers. But the workers may have started coming on their own. '

The BGMEA, an association of garment manufacturers and exporters in Bangladesh, said a day earlier that 80 per cent of the workers had left. The garment factory will be started with those who have remained. Those who cannot come will not lose jobs. BGMEA vice-president Shahidullah Azim claimed that the workers did not go home this Eid holiday. Those who have left have already left. About 20 percent of the workers are at home. It is not they have to come by saturday.

State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain also said that if the workers could not come, they would not lose their jobs But in reality the situation is reversed. Garment workers said they had been told by phone and text message that they had to return by Saturday otherwise there will be no job.

Sirajul Islam Rony, president of the National Garment Workers Employees Unity League, said the BGMEA was lying. Hundred percent workers have gone to their village homes during Eid holidays They are now forced to return Dhaka. No worker has come to Dhaka before.

He further said that garment workers are calling us in distress. But we can't do anything for them. They are returning to work after suffering indescribable hardships.

Siddiqur Rahman, former president of BGMEA, said the workers are returning the way they left. They have done this on both Eids. They were told not to go home this Eid. But they are gone. Now they are rushing after getting the news of opening.

In reply to another question, he said that the garment factory is being started from Sunday following the complete hygiene rules We will be more careful because of the Indian variant.

More than 4 million workers work in about 4,500 garment factories in Bangladesh. Most of them are women. These workers are now rushing to Dhaka without public transport in the lockdown.

Public health expert Lelin Chowdhury said it is clear from repeated mistakes that those who make decisions do not know what they want. It was said before the start of the current restrictions, this time there will be a strict lockdown. But before that, the factory was opened to satisfy the whims of the garment owners. It was opened, but the workers were in trouble again as there were no vehicles. They started coming as they could, just like before. This means that those who are doing the work do not know their own work. There is a lack of coordination within the government and people are being scapegoat for the sake of profit.