Buyers crowd TCB sales centres amid Covid-19 concerns
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
    • Book Review
    • Brands
    • Earth
    • Explorer
    • Fact Check
    • Family
    • Food
    • Game Reviews
    • Good Practices
    • Habitat
    • Humour
    • In Focus
    • Luxury
    • Mode
    • Panorama
    • Pursuit
    • Wealth
    • Wellbeing
    • Wheels
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • Videos
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • COVID-19
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Sunday
January 29, 2023

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
    • Book Review
    • Brands
    • Earth
    • Explorer
    • Fact Check
    • Family
    • Food
    • Game Reviews
    • Good Practices
    • Habitat
    • Humour
    • In Focus
    • Luxury
    • Mode
    • Panorama
    • Pursuit
    • Wealth
    • Wellbeing
    • Wheels
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • Videos
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • COVID-19
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
  • বাংলা
SUNDAY, JANUARY 29, 2023
Buyers crowd TCB sales centres amid Covid-19 concerns

Covid-19 in Bangladesh

TBS Report
06 April, 2020, 08:45 pm
Last modified: 06 April, 2020, 08:53 pm

Related News

  • TCB to procure 2.75cr litres of soybean oil
  • TCB to start sugar sales at Tk55 today
  • TCB to procure 2.25cr litres of soybean oil, 15,000MTs of lentil for OMS
  • 200 tonnes of onion imported by TCB rot as not cleared from port in time
  • TCB to import 3.30cr litres of soybean oil from two foreign companies without tender

Buyers crowd TCB sales centres amid Covid-19 concerns

Most of them seem oblivious to the gravity of the coronavirus pandemic as they hardly maintain social distancing while standing in queue

TBS Report
06 April, 2020, 08:45 pm
Last modified: 06 April, 2020, 08:53 pm
TCB staff selling daily essentials in West Rampura on Monday, in background people are casually queued up, violating the recommended physical distance. Photo: Mumit M
TCB staff selling daily essentials in West Rampura on Monday, in background people are casually queued up, violating the recommended physical distance. Photo: Mumit M

At a time when the government is emphasising social distancing, large gatherings at sales centres of the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) are posing risks of spreading Covid-19.

Every day, people are queuing up in front of the sales centres to buy goods at subsidised rates. However, in doing so, they are putting themselves at risk of contracting the virus as they hardly maintain social distance.   

On a visit to the Rampura kitchen market area in the capital at noon today, The Business Standard found that over a 100 male and female buyers were standing very close to each other in two separate queues in front of a TCB truck.

Earlier in the day, a similar scenario was observed in front of the TCB sales centre near the National Press Club.

Talking to several buyers, it was found that they were rather oblivious to the gravity of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ahead of the approaching Ramadan, the state-owned TCB has been selling sugar and red lentil for Tk50 per kilogram, and soybean oil for Tk80 a litre since April 1.  

These commodities are being sold at 50 points across the city. Visiting the sales centres, it has been found that the buyers are predominantly people from the lower and middle-income groups.

Driven by their needs, these people are coming to buy these commodities at subsidised rates. But what is worrying is the fact that there is little awareness among them about ensuring social distancing.

At the Rampura sales centre, a volunteer named Ariful Haque was seen urging the buyers to maintain social distancing while standing in the queue. However, the buyers were not paying any heed to his repeated advice.

They stood maintaining some distance after a police officer asked them to maintain a three feet distance from each other in the queue, but came closer again soon after the cop left.

Asked about this, a buyer named Aleya Begum said, "Coronavirus will not infect us."

Another buyer named Samiul Islam said maintaining social distancing is a bit difficult when many people are there. Later, he requested the two people standing in front of and behind him to leave some space in between.

The dealer of the sales centre Mohammad Ripon said the pressure of customers had been heavier since the past three days.

"Every now and then, we urge the buyers to maintain distance," he claimed, adding that they cannot constantly monitor them if the number of buyers is high.

The Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection is conducting regular monitoring programmes to oversee the TCB sales centres, besides monitoring the markets.

Visiting various sales centres periodically, officials of the directorate are also building public awareness to maintain social distancing while standing in queue.

Talking about this, Deputy Director of the Dhaka Divisional Office of the directorate Manzur Mohammad Shahriar said, "Not only we, but also the police are carrying out these activities. Even then, people are reportedly flouting social distancing rules at different places. We will enhance monitoring in this regard."

Another officer involved with market monitoring, Md Abdul Jabbar, stressed public awareness. "Only our advice will not bring about the desired result, they [buyers] must be aware as well. Or else, all of us will be at risk."

Meanwhile, visiting a number of sales centres, it was found that though the supply of sugar was adequate, the supply of red lentil was a little short. Each truck was provided with 150 kilograms of red lentil on Monday, while the amount was double on the previous day.       

Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB)

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Getting gas to India will be even more costly than laying this pipe to China.Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg
    Russia can't replace the energy market Putin broke
  • Photo: UNB
    AL won't run away, rather will continue developing Bangladesh: PM in Rajshahi
  • Reconditioned vehicles running out of stock as traders fail to open LCs
    Reconditioned vehicles running out of stock as traders fail to open LCs

MOST VIEWED

  • Incepta Pharma abandons Covid vaccine plan
    Incepta Pharma abandons Covid vaccine plan
  • Test tube labelled "Covid-19 Omicron variant test positive" is seen in this illustration picture taken 15 January, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
    Tighter screening at ports urged as new Covid sub-variant BF.7 detected
  • Test tube labelled "Covid-19 Omicron variant test positive" is seen in this illustration picture taken 15 January, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
    First case of new Covid sub-variant Omicron BF.7 detected in Bangladesh: IEDCR
  • Illustration: Collected
    Genome sequencing reports of Chinese nationals infected with Covid by Sunday: IEDCR
  • Computer image of a betacoronavirus which is the type of virus linked to Covid-19
    4 Chinese nationals detected with Covid at Dhaka airport
  • Omicron BF7: Land ports still left unguarded
    Omicron BF7: Land ports still left unguarded

Related News

  • TCB to procure 2.75cr litres of soybean oil
  • TCB to start sugar sales at Tk55 today
  • TCB to procure 2.25cr litres of soybean oil, 15,000MTs of lentil for OMS
  • 200 tonnes of onion imported by TCB rot as not cleared from port in time
  • TCB to import 3.30cr litres of soybean oil from two foreign companies without tender

Features

Nandita Sharmin's journey to give organic skincare a new identity

Nandita Sharmin's journey to give organic skincare a new identity

5h | Mode
Illustration: TBS

'The silver lining is that the worst is sort of behind us': Hamid Rashid, UN economist

9h | Panorama
Photo: Bloomberg

BuzzFeed and AI are a match made in fad city

8h | Panorama
Snipe in flight. Photo: Enam Ul Haque

Baikka Beel: 'A world where snipe work late'

1d | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Take your football game to the next level at Next Level academy

Take your football game to the next level at Next Level academy

11m | TBS SPORTS
“Investments risky without consistent policy, reliable data”- SK Bashir Uddin

“Investments risky without consistent policy, reliable data”- SK Bashir Uddin

1h | TBS Round Table
What does Shahrukh has in his 770 million dollar property?

What does Shahrukh has in his 770 million dollar property?

22h | TBS Entertainment
15 Reasons Your Entrepreneurial Career Can Fail

15 Reasons Your Entrepreneurial Career Can Fail

21h | TBS Career

Most Read

1
Picture: Collected
Bangladesh

US Embassy condemns recent incidents of visa fraud

2
Illustration: TBS
Banking

16 banks at risk of capital shortfall if top 3 borrowers default

3
Photo: Collected
Splash

Hansal Mehta responds as Twitter user calls him 'shameless' for making Faraaz

4
A frozen Beyond Burger plant-based patty. Photographer: AKIRA for Bloomberg Businessweek
Bloomberg Special

Fake meat was supposed to save the world. It became just another fad

5
Bapex calls candidates for job test 9 years after advert!
Bangladesh

Bapex calls candidates for job test 9 years after advert!

6
Representational Image
Banking

Cash-strapped Islami, Al-Arafah and National turn to Sonali Bank for costly fund

EMAIL US
[email protected]
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2023
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - [email protected]

For advertisement- [email protected]