Noman Mosharef :
The mass exodus of people from the bustling capital Dhaka reached its pick on Friday, as millions of city folk headed to their village homes to celebrate the Eid-ul-Fitr with their near and dear ones.
Eid-ul-Fitr, the largest religious festival of Muslims, will be celebrated either on Monday or Tuesday subject to the sighting of the Shawal moon.
Around 1.2 crore people are expected to leave Dhaka and its adjoining areas during this Eid.
Of them, 55 percent (66 lakh) will go home by road, 25 percent (30 lakh) by waterways and 20 percent (24 lakh) by trains, according to General Secretary of National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads and Railways Ashish Kumar Dey.
Besides, the capital’s train and launch terminals saw increased flow of passengers since the morning as Eid holidaymakers made an all-out effort to reach their respective destinations ahead of Eid.
But the usual buzz at the city’s bus terminals was missing on the day, according to transport workers.
The Kamalapur Railway Station in the capital witnessed a large crowd of Eid holidaymakers on the day. Most of the trains except three left from Kamalapur railway station in the capital as per the schedule, according to railway officials.
Among the trains that ran late, the Neelsagar Express, which operates on the Chalihati route, left the station at 7:50 am, over an hour behind schedule. Passengers of the Rangpur Express faced a 15-minute delay while the Sundarban Express was the third train that failed to depart on time.
The morning trains were crammed with passengers, some of whom stood in whatever free space they found inside the coaches. The passengers, however, suffered in the scorching heat during Ramzan.
“Just see how they’re standing next to us while we’re seated. We’re suffering as much as they are. All of this happened because the authorities allowed passengers to travel while standing,” said Nabila Haque, a Rangpur Express passenger.
Sakhawat Hossain was travelling to Kushtia on the Sundarban Express. Every year, he has to face a myriad of hardships to travel home during the Eid holidays
and this year has been no exception, according to him. That is why he had sent his family home early and travelled alone after his office closed for the Eid holidays.
A total of 20 pairs of trains left Kamalapur railway station since morning.
Aminul Islam, acting manager of Kamalapur railway station, said six pairs of special trains have been running on the occasion of Eid. Today (Friday), 122 trains will come and leave from Kamalapurstation.When asked, he said, three trains delayed as they took extra time in picking up and dropping off passengers due to the long distance of the journey. However, we are working to maintain the schedule of trains.
On the other hand, the passengers’ rush at the capital’s Gabtoli Bus Terminal and its surrounding areas, including Technical and Kalyanpur bus stops, even as government, semi-government and autonomous offices started their vacations on Friday.
Transport workers were struggling to attract passengers as the counters were mostly calm until noon.
“Passengers are not travelling. We tried our best but failed to attract passengers. There isn’t any pressure at the counters this year,” said MdSarwar, counter master of the Barishal- bound SurjomukhiParibahan bus service.
“Vehicles are arriving at the station on time as roads are free. Sometimes, they run late but we are successfully maintaining the schedule.”
“People have received a six-day Eid-ul-Fitr holiday this year due to May Day and general public holidays before the festival. Many people sent their family members home before the holidays started. We are missing the usual travel rush due to these reasons,” said MdShawkat, counterperson of SarbickParibahan Ltd on the Dhaka-Madaripur route.
Despite selling advance tickets, the number of regular passengers have dropped this year, according to him.
“We haven’t faced any schedule disruption. Ferry terminals are also free and buses are arriving on time,” Sakura Paribahan counter master MdMainul said.
But he expects the number of passengers to rise on Saturday.
Moreover, defying the excessive heat and traffic, the country’s southern districts– Patuakhali, Bhola, Barishal– bound passengers were seen gathering at Shadarghat Launch Terminal on Friday afternoon.
They have claimed that the tickets are available in black market while they are not getting tickets from the terminal.
Launch officials say the passenger pressure at the Sadarghat terminal will increase several times if the ready-made garments and industries are closed on Saturday.There may be this extra pressure on the launch till the day after Eid.
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) has taken various steps to ensure uninterrupted flow of passengers. These include the deployment of adequate law enforcement personnel, the establishment of control rooms, the necessary arrangements for the safe launch of passengers, the provision of information on specific launches through round-the-clock miking. Adequate restrooms, public toilets and parking lots have also been increased in the river port.
Sheikh Mohammad Selim Reza, Joint Director, BIWTA, said, Care is being taken to ensure that no launch carries more passengers than its carrying capacity. Special services have also been set up to cope with the extra pressure of passengers.
