The photographs published by the media and also available on social media perhaps indicate a future picture of the pandemic situation in Bangladesh!
Hundreds of thousands of people are going home desperately without maintaining precautions and health safety, forgetting two weeks of strict lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
What’s going to happen following the exodus from cities especially Dhaka towards rural Bangladesh and influx again into the urban centres after the Eid holidays, especially after the country has seen the worst situation so far?
The last office day before the Eid-ul-Azha holiday, Monday, ended with the highest ever number of deaths from Covid-19. The new infections soared up to 13,321 – the second-highest number since the virus was detected first in Bangladesh in March 2020.
It’s no secret that experts have warned the government about the risks and advised it to act otherwise.
However, sentiment and pressure of livelihoods dictated the terms in giving priority to the interests of some in an attempt to make some money anyhow. In that context lives become secondary although some guidelines are there only to see them violated rampantly.
Some 3.0 million mobile subscribers have left Dhaka until July 17, before the highways witnessed gridlock due to a maddening crowd. According to the post and telecommunications ministry data, more than 10 million people carrying mobile phones left Dhaka during Eid-ul-Fitr.
Despite countrywide lockdown for weeks, the 'Delta' variant is creating havoc. It can be said that a lack of awareness or negligence to health protocols is also a reason why the situation is worsening.
It’s extremely difficult to control Covid-19 transmissions even in the lockdown, given the demographic and economic structure of Bangladesh society.
In view of the risks, authorities should have been more prudent and careful in taking decisions to control this disaster.
The third wave of Covid-19, which had already ravaged some countries including India, is spreading fast to the rural areas of Bangladesh.
It cannot be denied that awareness about the disastrous impact of this deadly virus is quite low in rural Bangladesh. People there are reluctant to take vaccines or to follow protective measures.
As millions of people have gone to the rural areas from large cities like Dhaka to celebrate Eid-ul-Adha with their family members and they will come back after Eid, the situation may get out of hand. India’s experience is a case in point. With a lower capacity for tackling such a situation than India, Bangladesh may face an unprecedented disaster.
It’s understandable that people have emotions and sentiments surrounding the celebration of festivals like Eid-ul-Azha, one of the biggest religious festivals of Muslims.
It is said in Ayat 256 of Surah Baqarah, “There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong.”
The message from the sacrifice of his son to the divine will by Prophet Ibrahim (pbuh) is clear. Almighty Allah, being satisfied with the Prophet's resolve, withdraws the decree and permits him to sacrifice an animal instead.
Now, Muslims all over the world offer Qurbani by slaughtering animals taking inspiration from the unique examples of sacrifice to please Allah.
Apart from the question of lives and livelihoods, people, especially their leaders in society need to show collective wisdom.
The pandemic is not new to humans as the civilizations survived many more disasters before. If we can’t use lessons from those pandemics and follow messages left by our predecessors, how could we really survive this time?
bdsmile@gmail.com