Deathly quiet descends on Gulshan cafe - the scene of Bangladesh’s first hostage crisis

It was eerily quiet on the far side of the Gulshan street which saw one of Dhaka’s deadliest terror attacks on Friday.

A day on, a few policemen were roaming inside the Holey Artisan Bakery, partly ruined by the commando operation that freed it from gunmen but not before they had slaughtered 20, mostly foreign diners inside.

The upscale cafe’s neighbours are still in shock, failing to find peace in the quietude. The restaurant, with its lush lawn, was a favourite haunt for locals and foreigners alike.

Diners were allowed in with their pets, unlike other Dhaka restaurants. Children would play in the lawn now heaped with debris. 

The five cars, one trampled over by the army’s APCs, were still ‘parked’ outside the Lakeview Clinic beside the cafe.

The owners were nowhere to be seen. A metal gate closed off the clinic’s parking area, while policemen guarded it on both sides. Policemen were strolling on a walkway beside the lake.

There are ten plots at Road 79; among them are seven multi-storey buildings and another was being constructed. The bakery and the clinic were on the other two plots.

The end of the siege brought some relief to the locals but most chose to remain indoors on Saturday. Some ventured out, mostly to buy essentials, on Sunday.   

A barricade stands where Road 79 meets Road 75, guarded by armed policemen, two of whom were female personnel. Passing that required answering some questions and getting frisked.

The barricade on the opposite street was harder to cross, and only residents of the street were allowed entry. A resident will have to confirm any person who wants to visit them and take them from the barricade.

People have still not gone out to the streets that were filled with security forces a day ago. Housemaids, cooks and gardeners had a hard time getting to their workplaces.

Anima Chishim worked as a cook in one of the flats. She said her employer had to walk down to the barricade to bring her in. 

A person who owns a flat in the building beside the cafe had trouble entering it. His tenants are foreign nationals. He was there to mend the windows shattered by bullets.

Police asked him to put off repairs until after Eid.

“Rainwater is getting through the broken windows. Do you know how much this flat costs?” he told the policemen, who eventually let him in after much debate. 

A homemaker from the street said the authorities should have notified them about restrictions of movement. There were a few days before Eid, and they were expecting many guests.

She was stopped at a barricade, but police let her pass after she convinced them she needed to buy food to cook for Eid.

A woman showed a box full of mangoes to police guards, who then asked her to pour them out on the street. “How will you pick them up if you roll all of it out?” she shot back.

A car passed the barricade after police checked it on all sides. A driver who passed it said getting a car in was a ‘huge issue’ that should be avoided.

But those leaving the city for Eid holidays had their suitcases were opened at the checkpost.