Dhaka did not empty out as coronavirus stops usual Eid holiday exodus

Tens of millions of residents leave Dhaka during Eid-ul-Azha every year to celebrate the festival with loved ones at their rural homes, but COVID-19 outbreak has forced them to stay put this year.

Unlike the previous years, the streets were not deserted during Eid. Scores of buses, microbuses, private cars and autorickshaws hit the streets on Sunday, though fewer than in usual days, still their number was higher than those during past Eids.

More shops were open this time as well than they were in the past years.

A number of people left the city before the festival this year, but the exodus was not massive by any means. Trains carried passengers like normal days but holidaymakers did not climb onto the roof or held onto the sides and fronts of the train like in the past.

The Dhakaites had been housebound during Eid-ul-Fitr amid a lockdown over the pandemic two months ago, with no or few visits to relatives’ houses. Many got out during Eid-ul-Azha as the curbs are not in place anymore.

“We didn’t travel to our [ancestral] home out of fear of infection. Now we are visiting a relative in Mirpur. The children will be happy. And we can meet the elders,” said banker Ahsan Habib of Siddheshwari.

Tea seller Ainuddin at Kakrail said he had never seen such a Dhaka after Eid in his 12 years in the city. “It appeared like a curfew. But look at the number of vehicles on the streets this time,” he said, pointing to the large numbers of automobiles..

Autorickshaw driver Humayun Kabir at Bijoynagar said he got two trips in the morning, which he considered “not bad” a day after Eid.

Schoolteacher Sanjida Khatun was returning home to Old Dhaka after visiting a relative at Naya Paltan. “I didn’t think I would see this many vehicles on the streets,” she said.