‘Lockdown’ or ‘shutdown’ becomes farcical: Fakhrul

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir
File photo

Bangladesh Nationalist Party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the government’s announcement on seven-day ‘strict lockdown’ or ‘shutdown’ becomes farcical.

The lockdown turns totally ineffective because of the government’s inefficiency and unaccountability.

Fakhrul made this statement today, Sunday, while briefing newsmen at BNP chairperson’s political office in Gulshan area, Dhaka.

The BNP leader said that a lockdown never works unless the people at the informal sectors are not aided with food and hand cash.

“Hungry people will step out of home in search of food,” he said, slamming the government for not having proper planning to tackle the Covid-19 crises.

Citing shortage of emergency medicines and medical equipment at the coronavirus-hit public health facilities, Fakhrul added, “The big concern is that the central medical stores depot is running out of emergency medical equipment.”

"There is no stock of Remdesivir injection. There are not enough kits for Covid-19 testing. Hospitals are lacking ventilator, high flow nasal cannula, ICU bed, oxygen concentrator and other. Despite the shortage, the health ministry is repeatedly making false claim about the stocks”.

The top organiser of BNP, while pointing out the deteriorating condition of the over-burdened district hospitals, said, “Patients are dying because of oxygen crisis. The government, in turn, has completely failed to materialise a comprehensive action”.

BNP standing committee, the top decision making body of the party, sat virtually on Saturday. The press briefing was called to convey BNP’s latest decisions.

The BNP leader said the standing committee expressed BNP’s grave concern over the spread of coronavirus Delta variant across the border districts and the capital city Dhaka.

The committee demanded that the government must step down and the election commission will hold a fair and participatory national election under a non-partisan caretaker government, Fakhrul added. “Otherwise, Bangladesh will end up as a failed state”.