Shops reopen but customers stay away

Some markets in parts of Dhaka decided to remain closed on Sunday morning, but some small clothing traders did set up shop outside those markets. Traders and store owners say that despite the lifting of lockdown restrictions, people are scared to go out. There are few customers on the streets and regular public transport services have not resumed. It will take more time to return to business as usual.

According to a police announcement, people still require movement passes if they wish to go somewhere, despite the opening of shopping malls. But police did not stop customers or sellers on the first day of eased restrictions, according to 10 pedestrians and shop owners who spoke to bdnews24.com.

Only a handful of customers could be seen at stores in Dhaka’s Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Dhanmondi, Bata Signal and New Market areas on Sunday morning. In most places, traders and employees busied themselves with cleaning out the stores and arranging their inventory. Some stores were even closed.

Stores and shopping malls at Mirpur-1 reopen in the lockdown on April 25, 2021 as the government lifts pandemic restrictions on them. There were very few people on the road from Shyamoli to Mohammadpur. A lift operator at the market said that he had gone home to his village in Dinajpur on Apr 11 when he heard of the lockdown.

He took a freight truck to Dhaka when he heard the market was to reopen. Salam, the owner of a cosmetics store in the market, said: “What kind of business will we actually do? Everyone is still afraid of the lockdown. The disease is spreading everywhere. But we can’t stay at home month after month. We need to do what we can to survive.”

Mohammad Hossain was selling shirts and trousers from his rickshaw van outside the Tokyo Market. Though the trade earns him a living most of the time, the last 10 days of lockdown have been stressful. “I was out of work during the lockdown,” he said. “

Now I’ve opened my store again, but I’ll have to close before evening. Most of my customers used to come then. Most of my customers were poor people.” Similar scenes played out in the Dhanmondi, New Market, Bata Signal and Science Laboratory areas. Though there were more rickshaws, motorcycles, cars and people on the road, the stores, for the most part, remained empty.

Stores and shopping malls at Mirpur-1 reopen in the lockdown on April 25, 2021 as the government lifts pandemic restrictions on them. OveStores and shopping malls at Mirpur-1 reopen in the lockdown on April 25, 2021 as the government lifts pandemic restrictions on them.

Photo: Asif Mahmud OveJamal Hossain, a trader for Saima Fashions at the ADC Empire Plaza in Dhanmondi, said he had not seen a single customer in the two hours his store was open. Even though the Eid was coming up, he had followed the government’s rules and reopened his store accordingly.”People are still afraid. There isn’t much traffic on the roads. I don’t think the business will be very good,” he said.

Moinuddin, manager of the Lily Star fashion house just inside Dhaka’s New Market, said the horrific situation in neighbouring countries had frightened people.”I’m afraid,” he said, but the government has allowed stores to open “so I mustered the courage to do so”. But there isn’t any business to be done.

The New Market is one of the busiest shopping areas in Dhaka. But there was a languid atmosphere on Sunday. There were no crowds, no packed footpaths or alleys.Mohammad Shahabuddin, who brought his family to the Science Laboratory area for shopping, said he planned to visit family in his village once the lockdown eased. He was hoping to avoid the crowds and finish his shopping before then.

The building administration had set up a disinfectant tunnel for the Mirpur Shopping Centre at Mirpur-2 in compliance with health regulations when the reporter arrived in the area around 10 am. Though preparations were underway to open the market, no shopkeepers had arrived as of 9:30 am. Hawker Jafar Ahmed was selling wooden toys from his rickshaw van in front of the shopping centre. “There was absolutely no business in the past ten days and I haven’t earned any money,” he said.

(AA)