Women discouraged to go to markets in Netrokona

The Netrokona Chamber of Commerce has requested women who live in surrounding localities not to visit the district markets and shops to prevent the outbreak of novel coronavirus. 

A public announcement was made about this through loudspeaker on Thursday. 

The announcement said, "Though the shops and markets have been opened, the market monitoring team finds irregularities in abiding by the social distancing and health rules. So, the chamber of commerce may ask the authorities to close the shops and markets if the situation goes out of control." 

Considering the grounds, women are being discouraged to go to the markets. The announcements suggest that women should stay at home.  

Abdul Wahed, president of the district chamber of commerce, said that women are visiting the markets for Eid shopping. 

"Some of them even carry babies in their laps. It is not possible to maintain social distancing because of the excessive crowd. Hence, they are being discouraged to visit the markets," he said. 

However, the number of women in markets remained the same even after the announcement. 

Visiting the shops until noon, this correspondent found that all the markets and shops were crowded with people. And the majority of the buyers were women. 

Many of the women do not wear masks. Besides, the shops also do not impose any health and hygiene rules. 

It is worth noting that the shops and markets of the district town have been open from 10am to 4pm since May 10.