Dhaka New Market to remain shut

Dhaka New Market will not be reopened before Eid-ul-Fitr amid the ongoing coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic.

New Market Shop Owners' Association President Ashraf Uddin Ahmed Babu has confirmed the matter on Saturday (May 9) noon.

"We have held a meeting with businesspeople today. Most of them expressed their opinion not to reopen the market. So, we will not reopen the market before Eid," he said.

Earlier, the authorities of Bashundhara City Shopping Complex and Jamuna Future Park, two of the capital’s biggest shopping malls, decided not to reopen before Eid in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus.

The government on May 5 allowed businessmen to keep shops and shopping malls open for six hours from 10am to 4pm every day from May 10, upon maintaining health guidelines during the general holidays.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) issued a set of instructions to the authorities of shopping malls in the capital set to open on May 10, ahead of the Eid.

Dhaka/Hasibul/AI