Rashidul Hasan

Biman Bangladesh Airlines has sought a Tk 1,500 crore loan from the state-owned Sonali Bank as the national flag carrier has been reeling from a severe cash crunch amid global travel restrictions owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

The government yesterday extended the ongoing shutdown of most of the public and private offices till May 5 in a bid to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus in the country.

Although the state-owned Bangladesh Television has started broadcasting in Middle East and North Africa recently on a pilot basis, private TV channels from Bangladedsh are still out of reach in the regions, limiting some 70 lakh Bangladeshi migrants from knowing about their homeland’s present situation amid coronavirus outbreak.

Farmers in the haor region of Sylhet may have to count losses due to damages by flash floods, forecast for later this week, right at the beginning of boro harvest.

With several thousand Bangladeshis passing days in hardship in stranded situations in India for over a month, the government yesterday urged Bangladeshi citizens to have patience, assuring them of their gradual repatriation after bringing back patients from South India.

Irregularities in distribution of subsidised food items among the poor continue mainly due to political interference in selection of dealers though the government has apparently taken a tougher stance to stop such malpractices amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The logistics and freight forwarding business in Bangladesh has been devastated by the global coronavirus pandemic, which has led to a nosedive in transportation of goods by land, air and sea.

The US-Bangla Airlines will operate eight special flights on Chennai-Dhaka and Kolkata-Dhaka routes from April 20 to bring back over 1,000 stranded Bangladeshis who went there for treatment.

While most expecting fathers dream of holding their child for the first time to feel the joy of holding his future in his arms, the reality was very different for one Shariful Islam.

A total of 144 Bangladeshis -- including 13 cabin crew -- who remained stranded in Saudi Arabia (KSA) for over a month following suspension of air communication between Dhaka and Riyadh due to global outbreak of Covid-19, returned to Dhaka last night.

As evening falls, an eerie silence now replaces the usual cacophony of honking buses, hawkers shouting out their wares, and music blaring from sidewalk shops at Gabtoli Bus Terminal.

Although there are criticisms over the role of some healthcare employees, many of them are giving it all on the frontline of the battle against coronavirus.

Healthcare employees treating Covid-19 patients may stay in the hotels and motels of Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation for free.

Several thousand Bangladeshi migrant workers in the Middle East, Italy and some Southeast Asian countries are facing acute shortage of food and other essential commodities as their income sources remained shut amid shutdown enforced by the countries to contain coronavirus spread.

The blood donations different voluntary organisations and blood banks receive have decreased sharply amid the outbreak of novel coronavirus, raising fears that many patients in need would not get the blood.

Covid-19 related loss to the country’s tour operators in the last three months has been around Tk 1500 crore and is likely to shoot up to Tk 6000 crore by the end of this year, said Tour Operator Association of Bangladesh (Toab).

It’s a melting pot of activities. Children are playing on the alleys, groups of youths are playing dice, adults gossiping on the street, and opened shops are crowded by both buyers and onlookers.

Stuck at home for the past two weeks, Arhaan Habib, a kindergarten student, looks dejected. As he cannot go out amid the nationwide shutdown, he spends most of his time playing with toys and watching YouTube videos on mobile phone. He finds it extremely hard to concentrate on his studies.

Although the Saudi Arabian government yesterday urged different countries to delay making hajj plans this year, suggesting the pilgrimage could be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, Bangladesh said it would go ahead with their preparation regarding hajj.

As the authorities are set to extend the shutdown to contain the spread of coronavirus, experts have pointed out that lax enforcement of the ongoing nationwide closure has raised questions about the effectiveness of the government move.