City bus services to resume on Wednesday amid virus lockdown

The government has decided to allow public transport services in Dhaka and other city corporation areas from Wednesday amid the coronavirus lockdown.

City bus services will be available from 6am to 6pm, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said at a press conference at his home in Dhaka on Tuesday.

No transports will be allowed to enter or leave the cities, he added.

Commuters suffered in Dhaka and other cities on the second day of the lockdown on Tuesday due to a shutdown of public transports amid the rise in the number of coronavirus cases.

Cars, microbuses, rickshaws and autorickshaws were spotted in larger numbers.

In the morning, there was a rush of vehicles at key points of Dhaka. Long tailbacks were seen in parts of the city. Office-goers suffered the most due to the closure of public transports.   

The government banned public transports for seven days as the lockdown started on Monday. It will continue until Apr 11.

The restrictions apply to markets, shopping malls, hotels and restaurants.

The 11-point directive allowed the government and private offices and banks to operate on a limited scale. The book fair also remains open.

The lockdown rules came after an 18-point directive, including a reminder of mask and physical distancing rules, in a bid to curb the virus upsurge.

The first directives also restricted the number of passengers in public transports.