Dhaka: Embarked outside of his house to complete his personal shopping for eid, Gazi Hasanul Imam, a 32-year-old Dhanmondi resident, dialed the numbers of two of his friends, asking them to accompany him as he did not feel like going out alone.  

His fear of venturing out alone stems from Friday attacks by armed terrorists in a posh Gulshan eatery, Holey Artisan Bakery.

Termed as Bangladesh’s first-ever hostage crisis, the death of 20 hostages, mostly consisting of foreigners, has cast an adverse effect on shopping plans and overall festivities of the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr.

As many still cannot get over the shock of such a heinous incident which took place on a night like Lailatul Qadr, people now fear to go to public places lest something like bombing or other means of violence happens.

‘It’s quite astounding not to find much customers three days before Eid,’ said Salim, manager at the New Market branch of Jotey Sarees. ‘Compared to other years, although business is brisk, Friday’s incident did have an effect on sales.’

Security have been beefed up at Bashundhara City shopping mall, where a battalion of security guards, most of them equipped with metal detectors, were deployed in various strategic points along with the usual batch of guards.

To make things worse, an account on Twitter by the name of Kamil Ahmed has warned about an impending attack at Jamuna Future Park on July 20 next. The account has been deactivated, but the threat persists.

Most of the crowd is currently located at bus stands and rail stations, where people are flocking in their thousands to get out of the city.

‘The Gulshan attack was a very disturbing incident for all of us,’ said Md Monowar, a working man who was taking his family to his hometown of Jessore from Shyamoli Paribahan’s Panthapath counter. ‘I want to take my family out from this ordeal, let them spend some time away from all this so that they can at least celebrate the eid in peace.’

The recent trend of hanging out for iftar has also taken a hit, as restaurants and cafes are not experiencing the same surge of crowds during iftar and sehri, something which was evident even this past week.

Md Rana Hussain, manager of Al-Razzak Hotel and Restaurant at Old Dhaka’s Johnson Road, said business has dipped as those who used to dine-in for iftars and sehris are hesitant to come and eat, fearing that they could be the next target.

Some are even packing their bags and head outside the country to spend eid abroad. Sourov Hossain, a junior marketing executive at a leading multinational company, is heading to Kolkata to get his mind off the issue.

‘As my hometown happens to be Dhaka, I want to go out of the country to forget about this nightmare’, he remarked, ‘maybe a few days out will keep me refreshed and ready for work’.

Asked about security measures, Masudur Rahman, deputy commissioner (media) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told UNB that security has already been increased ahead of Ramadan and eid.

‘But after the Gulshan attack, security has further been bolstered to ensure safety and protection of all nationals, so there is no need to panic,’ he added.

As Dhakaites prepare themselves for the upcoming Eid, it remains to be seen what initiatives the government will take to ensure the security of its people and prevent any further massacres in future.