People continued to leave the city in a mad rush on Saturday, ahead of a strict lockdown to be imposed by the government from July 1 to rein in the spread of coronavirus.
But most of all had to suffer a lot on the roads as the long-route buses from the capital remained suspended since Tuesday last, according to a witness account.
A huge number of the south-west bound passengers were seen on the Dhaka-Aricha highway and at Paturia-Daulatdia Ghat in Shibalay upazila of Manikganj.
The passengers were also crowding at the Shimulia and Banglabazar ferry terminals since early morning on Saturday. People were seen gathering at the city exit points like Sadarghat, Tongi, Gabtoli and Chittagong Road.
Many of the homebound passengers were seen moving ahead on foot towards their villages, while many others were using rickshaws, vans, motorcycles and personal vehicles.
On the other hand, a large number of people were entering the capital crossing different entry points.
The FE reporter found the desperate homebound people were crossing the Gabtoli Bridge on foot to reach Aminbazar, where they were getting in local buses, CNG-run autorickshaws, motor bikes and battery-run easy bikes.
They had to spend extra money too to travel with these modes of alternative transports.
A high official of Traffic Police told the FE that they instructed their personnel not to allow any vehicle carrying passengers to cross the bridges like those at Gabtoli and Babubazar.
He said they would conduct raids against the battery-driven autorickshaws and CNG-run autorickshaws to prevent them to enter the capital from adjoining districts.
Announcing the new phase of restrictions, Press Information Department (PID) in a statement said that all the government and private offices, except for those providing emergency services, would remain closed during the seven-day lockdown.
"All vehicles, excluding those carrying essential goods, will be kept off the roads. Only ambulances and vehicles used for providing health services will be allowed to operate," said the statement.
The media will also remain out of the purview of the lockdown, it said.
Meanwhile, State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain told the media that members of Bangladesh Army, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) along with police would be deployed to ensure proper enforcement of the lockdown.
During the lockdown nobody will be allowed to step out of home except for emergencies.
However, leaders of the apparel industry have said that the factories will remain open under special arrangements during the one-week period from Monday next.
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has already issued a notice to its members to keep the factories open during the lockdown.
"Factories will remain operational in compliance with the health guidelines," said Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) First Vice-President Mohammad Hatem.
Earlier on Thursday, the National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19 had recommended for a nationwide complete shutdown in the wake of surges in Covid-19 cases and deaths across the country.
On Tuesday last, the government had imposed 'strict lockdown' in the districts surrounding Dhaka city, apparently to isolate the capital from the severely affected region.
The districts are: Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Manikganj, Madaripur, Gazipur, Rajbari and Gopalganj.
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