East Rajabazar lockdown rolls on with mixed success

As the coronavirus epidemic wreaks havoc across Dhaka, the epicentre of the outbreak in Bangladesh, the government has enforced an 'experimental' lockdown in the capital's East Rajabazar for the last 10 days to limit the spread of the infection.
However, some residents of Rajabazar have been left aggrieved by the lockdown curbs which have not only disrupted the course of ordinary lives but also triggered a spike in prices of essentials, according to them, reports bdnews24.com.
The tally of coronavirus infections has since crossed 100,000 in Bangladesh, the 17th worst-affected country in the world by some estimates, and has shown little sign of ebbing away, leaving some residents to question the efficacy of another round of lockdowns.
East Rajabazar is home to almost 50,000 people, including 16,000 registered voters. As many as 31 cases of COVID-19 had been reported when the area went under lockdown but the tally has since risen to 60.
"The virus has kept on spreading and nothing seems to stop it. So what's the point of keeping us confined? We will follow the health directives if we are allowed to go on with our lives," said Mohiuddin, a resident of East Rajabazar.
The locality was completely sealed off at midnight on Jun 9 as part of the government's latest initiative to contain the outbreak based on the prevalence of the disease.
Only the Naznin School Road is accessible to residents in cases of emergencies, for which around 200 volunteers, including city corporation workers, have been stationed there. Another 20 teams are working to identify the areas visited by an infected person and trace their contacts for quarantine.
The army has been deployed to the area to monitor the situation while representatives of the local council, police personnel, IEDCR officials and teams of doctors and voluntary health workers also stand ready to collect samples and assist residents.
Speaking to bdnews24.com, a woman, asking to remain anonymous, complained that the price of food and other essentials are much higher in the locked-down zone than other areas. "Those who have money can afford it but what about us who belong to the middle class?"
Sabbir Hossain Masud, president of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Thana Awami League unit, acknowledged that prices of commodities had gone up during the first three days of the lockdown. However, the government subsequently sent about 10 trucks of provisions to resolve the issue, he said.
The city corporation has reserved provisions for the poor or middle-class groups whose livelihoods have been affected by the epidemic.
Local Ward Councillor Faridur Rahman Khan Iran, however, believes the number of infections would have been much higher without the restrictions.
"There are 60 cases of COVID-19 infection in the area now. The tally would've been higher had the stringent lockdown measures not been applied."
While the initial implementation of the lockdown was a bit haphazard, the situation has since become much more orderly, said Golam Murtaza, a resident of Rajabazar's Amtola.
Despite being reasonably content with the experimental lockdown, many locals called on the government to take steps to ensure that non-COVID-19 patients have easy access to healthcare services.