Shawdesh Desk:

Attendance of government officials and employees was very thin in the capital and elsewhere across the country on Tuesday amid the ongoing weeklong countrywide lockdown.

Many government employees remained absent in the offices on the pretext of the lockdown, seriously hampering official activities, sources concerned said.

In many areas in the capital, police and Rapid Action Battallion (Rab) took action against the people traveling in violation of the government directives while volunteers were seen raising awareness among people in different city points.

A large number of vehicles, including private car, microbus, rickshaw and auto-rickshaw, plied different streets in the capital on the second day of the lockdown.

Excepting passenger buses, all modes of small vehicles plied city streets as usual on Tuesday.

In the morning, there was a huge rush of such vehicles at Rampura, Malibagh and Kakrail intersections. Long tailbacks were seen in different parts of the capital.

Office-goers suffered most as operation of passenger buses remained suspended.

Operations of public transport have been suspended, but government and private offices have been kept outside the purview of the countrywide lockdown.

“Our sufferings know no bounds due to the lockdown.” We’re facing difficulty in going to office.  It is costing us more to go to office by rickshaw,” said, an official of a private financial institution in Motijheel.

Shopping malls in Mouchak, Moghbazar and Elephant Road remained closed, but corner shops remain open in residential neighbourhoods in the capital.

While visiting to kitchen markets in Shantinagar, Malibagh and Rampura, it was seen that health rules were hardly maintained at the kitchen markets while cars, rickshaws and auto-rickshaws were seen moving around freely.

Many workers were seen walking to the factories as operation of passenger buses remained suspended.

When the pandemic started last year, the factories followed the health rules. Workers and employees washed hands with soap or using sanitizer, and wore face masks and maintained physical distancing for some time.

The government banned operations of buses, trains and launches for seven days as the lockdown started across the country on Monday.

The restrictions will apply to markets, shopping malls, hotels and restaurants, according to a notice issued by the Cabinet Division on Sunday.

The 11-point directive allowed the government and private offices and banks  to operate on a limited scale.

The ongoing Amar Ekushey Book Fair alsoo remains open. Earlier on March 29, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) issued an 18-point directive to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus.