Staff Reporter :
Thousands of people were on the move for their hometowns and villages to celebrate the Eid-ul-Fitr with their relatives marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramzan.
The Eid is expected to be celebrated on June 6, depending on sighting of moon.
As the annual exodus begins, bus and launch terminals and railway stations in Dhaka witnessed rush of homebound passengers on Saturday as people made their all-out efforts to embark on their journeys braving rain and defying all hassles.
Dhaka’s normally busy streets saw less traffic yesterday as many residents already started their journey for homes earlier to avoid the passengers’ mad rush which is expected to begin from Tuesday.
According to some estimates, about one-third of Dhaka’s about 20 million residents usually leave the capital city twice in a year on Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha.
While visiting the Kamlapur Railway Railways Station, this correspondent found that the station was packed with passengers, as most families with children and luggage prefer trains to buses fearing traffic congestion on national highways.
A total of 17 intercity trains departed from the Kamlapur Railway Station with overcrowded passengers. Of them, four have failed to maintain schedules causing huge sufferings to the passengers.
Chilahati-bound Nilsagar Express, Rangpur Express, Chattogram-bound Prabhati Express and Khulna-bound Sundarban Express departed from station after the scheduled time. Aminul Haque, Station Manager of Kamalapur Railway Station, admitted the late running of the trains.
Clarifying the reason behind the delay of Rangpur Express, the station manager said that the train was late because of storm and technical fault.
The Rangpur Express was delayed by more than seven hours on Friday. Later, another train replaced it under special arrangement.
The passengers of the train complained of sufferings as they had difficulty to find out their seats mentioned in the tickets.
Reasons behind the delay of the other three trains were not known yet.
“We are making all-out efforts to maintain the train schedules,” said Aminul Haque.
Earlier, the railways authorities have launched special “Eid trains” with extra carriages to tackle the rush of Eid passengers.
Heavy rush of Eid passengers was also seen at Gabtoli bus station and Sadarghat launch terminal in capital. The homebound passengers also made usual complaints of overcharging by the transporters.
“Eid is always special as it gives us a chance to reunite with our families and friends,” said Monir Hossain, a passenger at Gabtoli bus terminal.
Traffic was normal on most of the national highways and major roads out of Dhaka, according to our district correspondent.
They reported no tailback on the national highways.
