Ehsanul Haque Jasim :
Rush of the passengers increased on Friday in the capital city as well as in the other cities of the country. Large crowds were seen at the capital’s bus and launch terminals and train stations since morning, which caused severe traffic jam on roads close to the terminals and the stations.
Eid passengers started leaving the capital Dhaka on Thursday for their village homes to celebrate the Eid-ul-Fitr with their kindred. The three-day Eid vacation will start from July 28.
The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) and Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) kicked off their first Eid special service on Thursday.
Visiting different terminals and stations in the city, it was found that passengers from different areas were pouring into the terminals and the stations to board into the vehicles. According to sources, all advance tickets for the Eid special journey were sold out. The mad rush of homebound passengers would continue till next Monday.
Passengers who were able to buy early train tickets have started leaving Dhaka on Friday. The first batch of advance tickets for the day was issued by the railway on July 20. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people are facing the same
old difficulties for tickets.
Kamalapur Station Manager Khairul Bashar said that passengers had begun leaving for village homes and the railway was striving to make journeys comfortable. He said, three extra trains would run from Dhaka to Parbatipur, Dewanganj and Khulna for seven days, starting from July 26.
Additional security measures were also taken in and around the station. The government cancelled last week all holidays for the railway staff.
Railway officials say that around one lakh people will travel by 43 trains everyday ahead of the Eid. Some 10,000 to 12,000 people will travel standing inside the coaches and on the roof of trains, mostly without tickets.
The authorities will introduce three special inter-city trains from today (Saturday) for three days that will operate on Dhaka-Dewanganj-Dhaka, Dhaka-Parbatipur-Dhaka and Dhaka-Khulna-Dhaka routes. Two special trains will run between Chittagong and Feni for three days before Eid day.
At the Sadarghat Launch Terminal, thousands of passengers gathered before three to four hours of the departure time of the water vehicles. “I came early to get a seat on the deck as had not I found any cabin ticket,” said Rakib Hasan, resident of Azimpur area. The road heading towards the launch terminal from Gulistan was clogged with traffic, as a large number of city dwellers were leaving for home. According to the BRTA, the special launch service that started from Thursday would run till next five days after Eid.
BIWTA Joint Director Saiful Islam Khan said RAB, police and mobile courts were deployed to ensure the safety of passengers. The BIWTA was keeping an eye on launches to prevent them from taking more than the permissible number of passengers on board, he said.
Meanwhile, bus owners fear they will not be able to ply their vehicles on time for the existing traffic congestion on the highways. Shyamoli Paribahan Managing Director Romesh Chandra Ghosh said that they were able to maintain the bus schedule quite well till Thursday evening, but feared the situation would get worse from Friday evening. “Usually, it needs only 15 minutes to cross Aminbazar bridge from Kalyanpur. But it takes around 2 hours to pass this short distance during the Eid rush,” said Yeasin Ali, a bus driver, adding that such a situation affects the bus schedule.
Meanwhile, some of the passengers alleged that the bus owners were charging extra fares from them. “Usually, they take Tk 450 for a ticket to Jhenidah. But now, the same bus company is charging an extra Tk 100 from each of the passengers,” said Kamal Bhuyian, a Jhenidah bound passenger.
According to Dhaka Metropolitan Police, over five million people, or almost half of Dhaka’s population, leave the capital during the Eid holidays.
Rush of the passengers increased on Friday in the capital city as well as in the other cities of the country. Large crowds were seen at the capital’s bus and launch terminals and train stations since morning, which caused severe traffic jam on roads close to the terminals and the stations.
Eid passengers started leaving the capital Dhaka on Thursday for their village homes to celebrate the Eid-ul-Fitr with their kindred. The three-day Eid vacation will start from July 28.
The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) and Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) kicked off their first Eid special service on Thursday.
Visiting different terminals and stations in the city, it was found that passengers from different areas were pouring into the terminals and the stations to board into the vehicles. According to sources, all advance tickets for the Eid special journey were sold out. The mad rush of homebound passengers would continue till next Monday.
Passengers who were able to buy early train tickets have started leaving Dhaka on Friday. The first batch of advance tickets for the day was issued by the railway on July 20. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people are facing the same
old difficulties for tickets.
Kamalapur Station Manager Khairul Bashar said that passengers had begun leaving for village homes and the railway was striving to make journeys comfortable. He said, three extra trains would run from Dhaka to Parbatipur, Dewanganj and Khulna for seven days, starting from July 26.
Additional security measures were also taken in and around the station. The government cancelled last week all holidays for the railway staff.
Railway officials say that around one lakh people will travel by 43 trains everyday ahead of the Eid. Some 10,000 to 12,000 people will travel standing inside the coaches and on the roof of trains, mostly without tickets.
The authorities will introduce three special inter-city trains from today (Saturday) for three days that will operate on Dhaka-Dewanganj-Dhaka, Dhaka-Parbatipur-Dhaka and Dhaka-Khulna-Dhaka routes. Two special trains will run between Chittagong and Feni for three days before Eid day.
At the Sadarghat Launch Terminal, thousands of passengers gathered before three to four hours of the departure time of the water vehicles. “I came early to get a seat on the deck as had not I found any cabin ticket,” said Rakib Hasan, resident of Azimpur area. The road heading towards the launch terminal from Gulistan was clogged with traffic, as a large number of city dwellers were leaving for home. According to the BRTA, the special launch service that started from Thursday would run till next five days after Eid.
BIWTA Joint Director Saiful Islam Khan said RAB, police and mobile courts were deployed to ensure the safety of passengers. The BIWTA was keeping an eye on launches to prevent them from taking more than the permissible number of passengers on board, he said.
Meanwhile, bus owners fear they will not be able to ply their vehicles on time for the existing traffic congestion on the highways. Shyamoli Paribahan Managing Director Romesh Chandra Ghosh said that they were able to maintain the bus schedule quite well till Thursday evening, but feared the situation would get worse from Friday evening. “Usually, it needs only 15 minutes to cross Aminbazar bridge from Kalyanpur. But it takes around 2 hours to pass this short distance during the Eid rush,” said Yeasin Ali, a bus driver, adding that such a situation affects the bus schedule.
Meanwhile, some of the passengers alleged that the bus owners were charging extra fares from them. “Usually, they take Tk 450 for a ticket to Jhenidah. But now, the same bus company is charging an extra Tk 100 from each of the passengers,” said Kamal Bhuyian, a Jhenidah bound passenger.
According to Dhaka Metropolitan Police, over five million people, or almost half of Dhaka’s population, leave the capital during the Eid holidays.
