Gulam Rabbani :
The normal scenario of the Sadarghat launch terminal in Dhaka has been changed after the opening of the Padma Bridge linking the south and southwest of the country with the northern and eastern regions on June 25 this year. The terminal was suffering from passenger’s emptiness since then.
But at the last moments of the Eid journey, Sadarghat is coming back with its as usual busiest face. Huge home bound passengers were seen at the terminal on Friday. The passengers were crowding on the ticket booths to get their desired and comfortable seats.
Meanwhile, the smiles returned to the faces of the workers when they saw the launches were filling up again after being empty for the last few days. Earlier, the launches were not getting passengers with various facilities. Finally the crisis has come to an end.
As the day progressed on Friday, the pressure of passengers was increasing at Sadarghat. The launches are leaving Sadarghat terminal with thousands of passengers of the southern districts on the occasion of the Eid-ul-Azha. The concerned persons of the launches are hoping that there will be such pressure of the passengers the next few days.
Officials of the ticket counters of the launches said passengers are crowding mainly in decks, most of whom are middle-income people. Most of the cabins of the launches are started to fill up as now the pressure of the passengers is more than the past.
There is a special launch service in the Dhaka-Barisal route to tackle the pressure of the passengers. In addition to the scheduled trip, Survi-6 left Dhaka for Barisal at 6.00 am on Friday.
A total of 10 luxury launches including Parabat-18, Sundarban-10, Kirtankhola-10, Sundarban-12, Manami are waiting to start for Barisal from 6.00 pm to 10.00 pm.
Kamal Hossain, a passenger of the Sundarban-12 launch, bought a cabin ticket for Tk 1,000 to go to Jhalkati. He said it is unthinkable to come to the terminal before Eid and get a cabin. It feels good to be able to go safely.
Shahab Uddin, a passenger of MV Juboraj-7, will go to Swarupkathi. He also got the cabin after coming to the terminal. He said that even though there was a crowd during the Eid journey after the opening of the Padma Bridge, the situation is not as suffocating as earlier. It seems the journey will be comfort.
Md Shahid Ullah, Joint Director of the Marine Safety & Traffic Management division of the BIWTA, said, “More than 150 launches are ready to carry the homebound passengers from Dhaka on the occasion of the Eid ul Azha. The launch crisis will not happen even if there is a pressure of the passengers. We are well prepared to make the launch journey beautiful and comfortable.”
