Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary

Stuck at home for the past two weeks, Arhaan Habib, a kindergarten student, looks dejected. As he cannot go out amid the nationwide shutdown, he spends most of his time playing with toys and watching YouTube videos on mobile phone. He finds it extremely hard to concentrate on his studies.

As the authorities are set to extend the shutdown to contain the spread of coronavirus, experts have pointed out that lax enforcement of the ongoing nationwide closure has raised questions about the effectiveness of the government move.

The government is likely to extend the ongoing shutdown for at least a week as part of its efforts to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

An unknown fear grips Azizur Rahman every time he comes out of his home in the morning. An ambulance driver for years, Azizur feels he might contract coronavirus anytime as he has to come in contact with different patients every now and then.

Mainul Islam was waiting by his rickshaw near an almost deserted Nakhalpara Rail Gate in the capital for over 20 minutes.

Amid widespread outrage over police excess in enforcing restrictions on people’s movement, the authorities yesterday issued several directives asking police and other officials to act professionally.

It seems like Bangladesh Road Transport Authority’s (BRTA) wake-up call has come too late.

Ignoring the government advice to stay home, people in droves continued to leave Dhaka for their village homes yesterday.

The government has decided to suspend all public transport services to slow the spread of novel coronavirus, inching closer to enforcing a lockdown.

The government is planning to turn a major section of the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway into an expressway to ensure better connectivity between the capital and Mymensingh division, where 10 economic zones will be established.

Confusion spread over the decision to put Sadullapur upazila of Gaibandha under lockdown yesterday, after a upazila committee to contain coronavirus, led by the UNO, made the recommendation to do so in a letter to the district administration.

A confusion has emerged over the decision to put Sadullapur upazila of Gaibandha under lockdown, after a upazila committee to contain coronavirus, led by a UNO, made the recommendation to do so in a letter to the district administration.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges took steps to collect toll from major highways for road maintenance, but an initiative to raise dedicated fund for the same purpose remained stalled for years.

Bidyanondo Foundation, a voluntary organisation working primarily for education of underprivileged children, today started spraying disinfectants in public transports as a preventive measure against possible spread of novel coronavirus.

About 30 per cent of the staff employed by tour operators in the country may lose jobs if the coronavirus pandemic does not subside anytime soon, according to various tour operations.

As the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise globally, so too does its impact on the country’s tourism sector.

Bangladeshi airlines and bus operators yesterday suspended regular passenger-carrying trips to India following India’s sweeping travel restriction on foreigners to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

Bus operators are bracing for bumpy roads ahead in the wake of India’s ban on entry of foreign nationals until April 15 and people avoiding travel within the country over apprehensions centring the coronavirus outbreak.

The outbreak of coronavirus in China has begun affecting two mega projects in Bangladesh -- the Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project and the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project – “to some extent”, project officials said.

The cost of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Railway Bridge Construction Project has gone up to Tk 16,781 crore from Tk 9,734 crore.