Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Saturday urged his party leaders and activists to stand by the poor and destitute people with the money they are supposed to spend for shopping in the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr.
“This year, Eid will be celebrated in a different perspective as the country is going through a crisis. That’s why I call upon the AL leaders and activists not to do shopping, rather donate their Eid shopping money to the poor and destitute people,” he said.
Quader, also road transport and bridges minister, was speaking at a virtual press conference on the contemporary affairs from his official residence in Dhaka, reports UNB.
He also urged affluent people to keep patience and be economic in Eid shopping this year, being imbued with the spirit of sacrifice.
Blasting BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir for criticising the government amid the coronavirus crisis, the AL general secretary said: “I ask him (Fakhrul) and his party BNP to stop criticisms and play a humanitarian role by standing beside the people in this crisis.”
“We should not lose our morale in this situation. We have to follow health guidelines and maintain social distancing strictly,” he said, adding that the neighbouring India’s coronavirus situation is worse than that of Bangladesh, and despite that, they have relaxed lockdown in some sectors to continue their economic activities.
Quader mentioned that the USA withdrew lockdown in its 47 states, while Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom and many other countries have already eased lockdown to keep their economies vibrant.
“Apart from saving lives, we should keep the wheels of livelihood active and that’s why the government eases general holidays in some sectors and allowed reopening of shopping malls,” he said.
The road transport and bridges minister said the administration will monitor whether the people are following health guidelines during shopping or not.
He said a vested quarter is spreading rumours over COVID-19 using social media. “These rumours are ill-motivated. Rumours and propaganda are more dangerous than the virus (coronavirus),” Quader added.
