In ‘lockdown’, Tolarbag people wait for good days

Tolarbag, a residential area of around 5,000 people in Mirpur, has been entirely disconnected from the rest of the city for the last 10 days following the death of two of its residents from coronavirus. 

The authorities have kept the area under lockdown since March 20 and instructed residents not to come out of their homes if they have no emergency to deal with. 

Additionally, local mosque committees have urged people not to go to the mosques for prayers for now. 

But the situation was a bit different on Friday. A number of people attended Jumma prayers in the mosques.  

"Around 50 people attended Friday prayers at our mosque," said Sartaj Alim, a local resident. "I did not go to the mosque."  

Abdur Rashid, another resident of the area, said some people are taking the crisis casually and ignoring the critical importance of the isolation. 

"They are roaming around and spending time on the streets without any reason. They make themselves scarce when the police appear," he added. 

Meanwhile, two coronavirus infected family members of the second deceased are getting cured gradually. 

"Two of our family members who tested positive after my grandfather passed away are now quite okay and feeling better," said a grandchild of the deceased person. 

Most people in Tolarbag are now feeling the threat of community transmission of the deadly coronavirus. 

One of the deceased was a resident of Darul Aman building in North Tolarbag. Nazmus Sakib Khan, who lives in the same building, said both the Covid-19 victims used to go to mosques and offer prayers together and nobody from their families had been from abroad recently. 

"That is why we suspect that they might have been infected through community transmission during prayers," he added.  

Sakib shared his experience of the last ten days in confinement with The Business Standard and said nobody from his family had left home since March 20. 

"On Monday afternoon, I just wanted to collect some medicines and I had to wait for at least 15 minutes for the authorities' permission. We are passing through tough times and waiting for good days to come," he added. 

Abdur Rashid, another resident of Tolarbag, said people are allowed to go outside to collect food and medicines once a day. 

"We have enough food stocks at home. If we need more food, a member of our family can go outside to buy it," he said. 

"For those who cannot go outside, a local charity organisation and the Dhaka North City Corporation help them collect food and other necessary items," he added. 

The voluntary organisation 'Poribarton' and the city corporation have also been disinfecting houses and roads in the residential area.

Subhashish Biswas, president of Tolarbag Flat Owners Association, said that following the second death in the area, the association had taken the matter very seriously and shut down all entry points to the area and tried to maintain an unofficial lockdown.