Staff Reporter :
Tens of thousands of passengers were seen in the different bus and railway stations, and launch terminals on Friday from dawn to nightfall. They were in a bit hurry their belongings and family members for going homes to celebrate the Eid-ul-Fitr with relatives.
This year the nine-day government holidays will make their Eid celebration more joyful as their return journey will be more comfortable. The Shawal moon will be sighted either on Tuesday or Wednesday. The nine-day long Eid vacation began from Friday.
The first two days of July are weekend and July 3 is another holiday on account of Shab-e-Qadr. The next three days will be official holidays for Eid-ul-Fitr followed by another weekend on July 8 and 9. As a result, about 1.3 million public servants will enjoy their vacation from July 1 to July 9.
Though the holidays began from Friday, most of the holiday makers left the city on Thursday after discharging the office duties.
A supervisor of Shyamoli bus counter told this reporter that 40 per cent of the city residents left the city on Thursday. As the Jumatul Wida prayer was very important to them, they started for different bus terminals in the afternoon,” said Khalid Mahmud.
Visiting Sadarghat launch terminal, this reporter found different scenery. The holiday makers for Southern part of the country rushed there from early morning. Not only the terminal, but also the adjacent area became a sea of people.
Traffic gridlock halted the movement from Gulistan to launch terminal. The traffic was seen from Jatrabari to Bahadur Shah Park. People even could not walk on the pavement for the hawkers and makeshift shops. Some passengers alleged that the traffic system in that area was so sub-standard that they could not move easily with their belongings.
Mahbub Ahmed, a passenger bound for Barisal, said, “I came from Uttara. I did not face any traffic jam on the way, but I faced difficulty while entering the terminal. The traffic was so packed that I had to wait for hours.” he said.
Some launches destined to Barisal, Patuakhali, Pirojpur and Bhola were anchored on the Pantoon, but they were not leaving the terminal because of passengers crisis.
Some Staff of the launch said, passengers mostly prefer journey in the afternoon.. If we get sufficient passengers, we will leave the terminal.
The launch owners association said, this year the passengers will not face any difficulty. The rush is simple this year, as the passengers will have sufficient time in hand to get prepared. “The rush could be seen on the last day before Eid,” he anticipated.
Around 190 launches are operating in 41 river routes of the country. Beside this, there are special services. Sanjit Kumar, a manager of Hanif Paribahan, said, they are maintaining time table regardless of passengers’ number.
“We departed 10 buses till now. Around eight to 10 seats were vacant in every bus. The Khulna-Barisal route buses were hit by scarcity of passengers, an impact of the long vacation,” he said. There was no rush at the Kamalapur Railway Station also.
A railway officer said, after every 40 minutes one train was leaving the station. Till now, 14 trains left Dhaka. But Sabbir Ahmed a government official said that they reached the station well before the departure time of the train.
Nasrin Akter said, “We are sitting here for hours for train. It is very disgusting.”
Tens of thousands of passengers were seen in the different bus and railway stations, and launch terminals on Friday from dawn to nightfall. They were in a bit hurry their belongings and family members for going homes to celebrate the Eid-ul-Fitr with relatives.
This year the nine-day government holidays will make their Eid celebration more joyful as their return journey will be more comfortable. The Shawal moon will be sighted either on Tuesday or Wednesday. The nine-day long Eid vacation began from Friday.
The first two days of July are weekend and July 3 is another holiday on account of Shab-e-Qadr. The next three days will be official holidays for Eid-ul-Fitr followed by another weekend on July 8 and 9. As a result, about 1.3 million public servants will enjoy their vacation from July 1 to July 9.
Though the holidays began from Friday, most of the holiday makers left the city on Thursday after discharging the office duties.
A supervisor of Shyamoli bus counter told this reporter that 40 per cent of the city residents left the city on Thursday. As the Jumatul Wida prayer was very important to them, they started for different bus terminals in the afternoon,” said Khalid Mahmud.
Visiting Sadarghat launch terminal, this reporter found different scenery. The holiday makers for Southern part of the country rushed there from early morning. Not only the terminal, but also the adjacent area became a sea of people.
Traffic gridlock halted the movement from Gulistan to launch terminal. The traffic was seen from Jatrabari to Bahadur Shah Park. People even could not walk on the pavement for the hawkers and makeshift shops. Some passengers alleged that the traffic system in that area was so sub-standard that they could not move easily with their belongings.
Mahbub Ahmed, a passenger bound for Barisal, said, “I came from Uttara. I did not face any traffic jam on the way, but I faced difficulty while entering the terminal. The traffic was so packed that I had to wait for hours.” he said.
Some launches destined to Barisal, Patuakhali, Pirojpur and Bhola were anchored on the Pantoon, but they were not leaving the terminal because of passengers crisis.
Some Staff of the launch said, passengers mostly prefer journey in the afternoon.. If we get sufficient passengers, we will leave the terminal.
The launch owners association said, this year the passengers will not face any difficulty. The rush is simple this year, as the passengers will have sufficient time in hand to get prepared. “The rush could be seen on the last day before Eid,” he anticipated.
Around 190 launches are operating in 41 river routes of the country. Beside this, there are special services. Sanjit Kumar, a manager of Hanif Paribahan, said, they are maintaining time table regardless of passengers’ number.
“We departed 10 buses till now. Around eight to 10 seats were vacant in every bus. The Khulna-Barisal route buses were hit by scarcity of passengers, an impact of the long vacation,” he said. There was no rush at the Kamalapur Railway Station also.
A railway officer said, after every 40 minutes one train was leaving the station. Till now, 14 trains left Dhaka. But Sabbir Ahmed a government official said that they reached the station well before the departure time of the train.
Nasrin Akter said, “We are sitting here for hours for train. It is very disgusting.”
