Shawdesh Desk:

Thousands of people overcrowded the Shimulia ferry terminal on Sunday in their frantic efforts to get back their village homes ahead of the hard lockdown.

People were seen flocking the Shimulia-Banglabazar ferry ghat and crossing the river since morning ignoring health safety protocols.

Safayet Ahmed, manager of Shimulia ghat of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation, said that 15 out of the 16 ferries are running on the route since morning. Commuters have been boarding the ferries though they are not allowed.

Around 400 vehicles were waiting at Shimulia ferry ghat to cross the Padma river in Louhajang upazila of Munshiganj this morning, he said.

Check-posts have been installed in many important points as the government earlier enforced restrictions to limit movement in the district.

Launches, speedboats and trawlers were seen carrying passengers beyond their capacities.

The government is going to enforce an all out  ‘maximum lockdown’ from July 1  as the country grapples with a surge in coronavirus cases and fatalities with the highly infectious Delta variant playing havoc.

Meanwhile, the country will go into the earlier announced strict lockdown ‘on a limited scale’ from Monday.

Government and private offices, barring those of emergency services, will remain shut during this period. The National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19 pandemic on Thursday recommended imposing a “nationwide shutdown” for two weeks considering the worsening Covid-19 situation in the country.

Community transmission of the highly transmissible Delta variant of coronavirus might be the reason behind the current Covid-19 situation in the country, said the committee.