Jamuna Future Park, Bashundhara City shopping malls not to open before Eid

The country’s two largest shopping malls — Jamuna Future Park and Bashundhara City Shopping Complex — will not reopen before Eid-ul-Fitr, the biggest religious festival for the Muslims, with a view to containing the spread of coronavirus. Shoppers usually throng the malls located in the capital for buying clothes and other items before Eid. Although the government has allowed all shops and markets across the country to reopen from May 10 with maintaining health guidelines, the authorities of Jamuna Future Park and Bashundhara City Shopping Complex have decided that the markets would not reopen for Eid shopping. The government on Monday announced the reopening of shopping malls and markets under some conditions for sales from May 10 amid the spiralling cases of COVID-19 infection and death in the country and during the general holidays announced to combat the pandemic. The shopping malls and markets across the country have remained closed since March 26. The commerce ministry in a press release said that on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, the government would allow shops to remain open from 10:00am to 4:00pm under some conditions. After a meeting of the national technical advisory committee on Covid-19, health minister Zahid Maleque on Tuesday said that the transmission of coronavirus might increase due to the reopening of shopping malls. Officials of Basundhara Group said as per a direction given by the Group’s chairman, Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, the shop owners of the Bashundhara City Shopping Complex decided that the market would remain closed during Eid shopping. The authorities of Jamuna Future Park in a circular informed its shop owners that the market would remain closed to limit the risk of coronavirus infection and death. Shop owners of New Market in the capital expressed their hesitation over the reopening of their shops before Eid. Dewan Aminul Islam, president of the New Market Shop Owners Association, on Wednesday said that the executive committee of the market would make a decision on whether the market would reopen or not. He feared that people would not visit the market for Eid shopping amid the pandemic. Sources said that the authorities of city’s Chandrima Super Market decided that the market would not reopen before Eid.