Living on nerves

Every time she steps out of her home in Dhanmondi, one of the affluent neighbourhoods in Dhaka, fear begins to creep into her mind. Be it while taking her kid to school or going out for shopping.

"I don't know what it is. But I have a feeling of unease. My daughter got scared to see police in her school the other day and asked me why police had come," said Rizia, a mother in her 30s.

She wasn't always like this. She changed after the July 1 attack at Holey Artisan Bakery when armed gunmen barged into the upscale eatery in Gulshan's diplomatic zone and brutally killed 22 people, mostly foreigners.

One month on, Dhaka looks what it has always been: a densely packed city with busy metropolitan life, crowded shopping malls and chaotic traffic. But beneath the vibrancy, there exists an undeniable tension.

Security checkposts have been set up at key points with law enforcement agencies conducting block raids in several residential areas.

Universities have taken different measures to increase vigilance on students while parents have started keeping close watch on their children. The government keeps assuring people of all-out efforts to fight militancy.

Several shopping malls and hotels now have armed private guards who screen bags and body-search customers.

Yet people are living in fear that the "invisible enemy" might turn up anytime.

"Now I try to avoid public places and tell my dear ones to remain alert," said Rita Jenny, a teacher at an English medium school in Tejgaon.

Shell-shocked by the Gulshan attack and the aftermath, her sense of insecurity increased after the Sholakia attack on the July 7 Eid Day.

"The government has to be truly sincere in tackling militancy. Heavy prices will have to be paid for any negligence," she added.

The café attack has struck fear especially into the hearts of the well-off in the posh Gulshan and Bashundhara areas.

"A huge number of foreigners and well-off people live in these neighbourhoods that are supposed to be well secured. If such an attack could happen here, I feel none is safe," said a resident of Gulshan.

The café carnage, which came following a spate of targeted killings of secular writers, bloggers, publishers, university teachers and religious leaders, is the first such attack in the country.

Several foreign governments expressed serious concern for the security of their people living in Bangladesh as the café attack victims included as many as 17 foreigners.

The incident buried all issues that dominated the public sphere for several months before July 1 -- like the murders of Sohagi Jahan Tonu and SP Babul Akter's wife Mahmuda Khanam Mitu, Bangladesh Bank heist and the humiliation of a Narayanganj headmaster.

The country's RMG industry has been hit hard. Following the attack, several foreign buyers and international retail brands have cancelled or postponed their visits to Bangladesh, the second-largest exporter of ready-made garment.

Needless to say, the city's restaurants and hangouts, particularly in the upscale neighbourhoods in and around Gulshan, are bearing the brunt.

Dhaka is a city of restaurants of myriad varieties, and Gulshan, home to well-off Bangladeshis and foreign nationals including diplomats, has some of the best multi-cuisine restaurants and cafes.

Most of the Gulshan eateries are witnessing only a handful of clients, and some of them are even empty at times.

"We now receive five to six customers a day. There was a time when customers used to come here in numbers and have juices till 11:00pm because we have seats outside on the footpath," said the manager of a juice bar.

"Now most of the customers just buy juice and go away."