Police launch crackdown, home-goers forced to return

Delowar Hossain Saikat was finally intercepted by river police at the Paturia ferry terminal in Manikganj.

The Dhaka-based businessman was travelling to Kushtia in his personal car to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr, and managed to dodge five highway police check-posts one after another on Wednesday.

At times, he avoided travelling on the Dhaka-Aricha highway and used alternative routes to cut through to the ferry terminal.

But he failed to cross the river as police caught him at the terminal and sent him back to Dhaka.

Saikat was only one of a few hundred home-bound people who, on Wednesday, were travelling towards their village homes, ignoring the government instruction to refrain from travelling during Eid amid the Covid-19 crisis.

However, almost all of them failed to reach their destinations because police pushed them back to the capital. The scenario was the same for home-goers waiting to cross the Padma River at the Mawa ferry terminal in Munshiganj.

Police said monitoring was strengthened with an increased number of check-posts on all roads, highways and waterways to stop the people's Eid journey.

However, many people are still roaming around in both the Mawa and the Paturia terminal areas, looking for a chance to cross the Padma by ferry, according to local people.

Many managed to get a ride by boat, and reached the Daulatdia ferry terminal in Rajbari on the other side of the river, but they too were pushed back by the police.

Atiur Rahman, who crossed the river by boat, said around 300 people crossed the river with him and reached Daulatdia ferry terminal, but police did not allow them to get off the boat.

"I rented a motorbike for Tk1,800 from Aminbazar in Savar. Using local roads, I reached the ferry terminal in the morning but could not cross the river. I am still waiting for a chance to cross," he said.

Sirajul Karim, an inspector of the Mawa River Police, told The Business Standard that hundreds of people reached the terminal on foot, personal cars and motorbikes. "But, we have pushed them back to Dhaka along with their vehicles."

Police seized 43 boats that were carrying home-goers from Mawa terminal on Wednesday, he also said.

Tania Sultana, additional superintendent of police (Manikganj circle), said they sent back around 200 people to Dhaka on three buses. Police arranged the buses for them.

"Highway and district police are working together to stop people travelling. We are not allowing anyone, except for emergency service vehicles, to travel," said Mallik Fakhrul Islam, an additional inspector general of highway police.