THE curfew ordered midnight past July 19, along with the deployment of the army in aid of civil administration, to contain unrest born out of the student movement seeking reforms in civil service job reservations had some discommoding effects on people鈥檚 daily life. As the day broke, it was more like the morning of an Eid day, with people ambling about and riding rickshaws and autorickshaws in areas where nothing unusual was going on. Curious people crowded at points of lanes jutting out on the main roads to see what was going on. The number of people increased on the road as the day rolled by.
People started feeling the trouble the next day, when security measures were a bit heightened and the number of people on the road went down. Many of the power and supply water consumers who mostly pay by prepaid meters fell in trouble as the meters stopped working with the amount of recharge having been used up. Many passed the day without water and many without power. A large number of people, several hundred of them, thronged the utility offices amidst the curfew for a recharge. Many had to wait their turn for hours. With internet services 鈥� both mobile and broadband 鈥� having been taken off, it was misery that people faced.
The next morning, when security measures were a bit more tightened and people walking down the road or riding rickshaws especially in areas where the unrest had left a mark faced monition of law enforcement units to carry out the chores during the relaxed hours of the curfew, utility agencies announced an extended credit for consumers. But for that, they needed to visit the utility offices for a code or smart card readjusted for payment or the credit. The utility agencies could not automatically extend the credit as prepaid meters went offline. The authorities arranged for the workaround, but it largely failed. Utility agencies should have thought of measures to handle such a situation even if it happens once in a lifetime.
Mobile subscribers running out of balance have also been in trouble as they could not initially recharge since the protests began. Agents dealing with mobile financial services could not open their outlets. The suspension of internet services further constrained them. A day or two before the curfew had been ordered, mobile financial services offered the pre-app method of dialling certain USSD code for the job. It did not work smoothly as the mobile network was overburdened. While many could do the job, many others could not. And, it has often disappointed the subscribers. Besides, not many had enough money in their mobile financial services accounts and not many had their accounts linked to the bank accounts that could enable them to transfer money with any USSD code system although it has also been on offer. Automated teller machine booths have remained non-functional.
Emergency services having been kept outside the purview of the curfew has not always helped in the supply of goods. In some areas, it did. In some other areas, it did not. In many cases, people had to depend on what vendors selling vegetables on barrows dished out for high prices. The door-to-door municipal waste collection has also faced problems, with wastes of several days having been piled up either down the building or the lanes and allies. City authorities mainly collect wastes from secondary transfer units, but people engaged by the ward councillors for a monthly payment by residents have largely stopped collecting wastes on the excuse of the curfew and the fearful situation.
City bus services are mostly closed. Long-distance buses are also off the road. The Bangladesh Railways at night on July 20 said that there would be no train movement until further order. All this has virtually shut off communications of any type, even when the needs of the public are pressing and essential. People cannot travel from one place to another when they needed to carry patients for treatment.
Export works have almost stopped as goods cannot be transported. Ports are reported to be carrying out part of the jobs that can be done manually. Businesspeople cannot communicate with their partners within the country and outside. Apparel traders have already expressed their concern. Traders in other goods are also worried, citing a huge amount of money in daily losses. Software export and IT-enabled services have stopped, raising the concern of entrepreneurs.
Education also appears to be hard hit as all schools, primary and secondary, colleges and universities are closed. All halls of residence in universities have been vacated. The Higher Secondary Certificate examinations, which were going on, have been suspended. Unless an urgent action is taken to reopen all educational institutions, the students who suffered a great learning loss during the prolonged Covid outbreak would be mired in further trouble. And, such a situation could very well create disappointment amongst students, bordering on despair.
The curfew has added a still indeterminate and doubtful recreational aspect to people鈥檚 life. With no internet, with cable television disrupted at places and no learning, young people were playing football and cricket on the road in many places. This is fearful especially amidst the curfew. Besides, some of such on-the-road players frowning at vehicles passing by adds to the fears that at least some of them could be part of the pickets of any colour. On-lookers along the roads or at the mouth of the lanes curious to know how curfew works have become both a sight and a danger.
The government鈥檚 measures to contain the protests and the situation that has been born out of this have left many issues causing public sufferings unsorted. It is time that the government minded them.
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Abu Jar M Akkas is deputy editor at 抖阴精品.
