BRTA caught napping!
It seems like Bangladesh Road Transport Authority's (BRTA) wake-up call has come too late.
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, BRTA headquarters on Tuesday issued a set of directives upon its field offices to ensure cleanliness of public transports and bus stoppages. But that very day, the government decided to close all public transports.
The government transport regulatory body issued the order, six days after the Health Services Division called for taking steps to clean public transports and bus stoppages to contain spread of novel coronavirus.
Bangladesh confirmed the first case of coronavirus infection of March 8, and first death on March 18. Five more people tested positive with coronavirus yesterday, taking the number of the confirmed cases to 44, including five deaths.
On Tuesday, the government announced suspension of all public transport services to slow the spread of novel coronavirus, inching closer to enforcing a lockdown.
Operations of all passenger trains, launches and domestic flights also came to halt on the same day.
In addition, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, in a video message on Tuesday, declared "lockdown" on all public transport from yesterday.
As a result, buses, minibuses, CNG-run auto-rickshaws and human hauliers were not seen on streets yesterday.
However, freight trains, cargo vessels, trucks and lorries carrying goods, medicine, fuel and perishable items, will operate as usual, according directives from different ministries.
The measures came a day after the government announced closure of all public and private offices from March 26 to April 4 as part of its efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19.
It also declared general holidays for the period.
But the order, signed by Deputy Director Masud Alam and issued on assistant directors at metro and district circles, came on Tuesday.
It is now available on the website of BRTA.
It called for taking steps to clean and disinfect all bus stations, ensure use of hand sanitiser and masks, clean and disinfect insides of all public transports and prevent people with fever, cough or cold from travelling.
After the first coronavirus case was confirmed, health authorities on several occasions have asked people to avoid public transports to avoid the infection.
But many people had no choice but to use public transports, including buses, minibuses, human haulers for communication.
In the given context, Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority and transport owners distributed some hand sanitiser bottles and masks, and set hand-washing facilities at different bus stoppages in Dhaka, although it was quite inadequate for the number of passengers. But the BRTA was not to be found in all this.
In the meantime, the regulatory body however suspended all tests for issuing licence and registration of vehicles, citing coronavirus issue.
"We didn't see any visible steps taken by BRTA, but it should have done something in this regard," said Khondaker Enayet Ullah, secretary general of Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association, yesterday.
Asked about Tuesday's order, he said, "It is too late, and has still remained only on paper."
Contacted, Masud Alam said: "When we received order from the [Road Transport and Bridges] ministry to give those directives, we issued it right away."
Besides, they have already informed transport operators in this regard, he told The Daily Star yesterday.
This correspondent could not reach BRTA's acting chairman Yousub Ali Mollah over phone, for comments about its poor response to the crisis.
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