Staff Reporter :
Homebound passengers have already started swarming at different bus counters in the capital, but many of them are not getting tickets as the bus counters said that all tickets had been sold out.
A number of passengers, however, alleged that they are scurrying from one counter to another to get tickets but they are being frustrated.
If the passengers after much struggle get tickets, they are being compelled to pay more money than the ticket price in the normal time.
Even the passengers complained if they pay extra money, they can buy tickets from the black markets.
Visiting a number of inter-district bus counters like Shyamoli, Nabil and Hanif Paribahan in Asad Gate, Kolyanpur and Mazar Road, the counter managers said that all their tickets have been sold out and even they have crisis of buses to carry the loads of the passengers.
Some of the passengers at Savar Bus Stand, Baipail and Sripur alleged that they are not getting bus tickets while they approached the counters. But tickets are being available, when some extras are being paid with the high rate of the tickets.
Such Racketeering of the ticketing has created resentments among the passengers because they are not helpless in the hands of the counters and even they have no place to complain to get redress.
Being helpless, they are paying high price for collecting tickets to reach their destinations to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha with the kith and kin.
A Gaibandha bound passenger Tania Akhtar came to Savar Bus stand to collect tickets and visited a number of counters but he failed to collect two tickets for her family.
When Tania hinted the counter manager for some extras, she obtained the tickets from the Shyamoli counter. She paid Tk1,800 for the tickets but the normal price was Tk600 for each ticket.
While talking to the Shyamoli bus counter staff Arif, they said that advance bus tickets have been sold out but still many passengers are enquiring of tickets.
“We are trying our best so that all people can go home to celebrate Eid,” he said.
Visiting the Nabil counter at Asad Gate, it was learnt that all their tickets had been sold out and the passengers who had obtained advance tickets are going home to celebrate Eid.
They also said that they sold their tickets with the usual price and no extra price was tagged with the normal fare.
On the other hand, the passengers who are failing to collect tickets from the counters are going home by using several local buses move from one point to another.
Meanwhile, the homebound passengers are suffering in the road journey at different points in the highways of Dhaka-Taingail, Dhaka-Mymensingh and Dhaka-Sylhet due to additional pressure caused by the cattle loaded trucks.
Sources said that the buses were taking longer time to enter into and to leave Dhaka due to the additional pressure of vehicles at the Gabtoli area where the Haat has been set up.
This delay of the buses to arrive at the counters where hundreds of passengers had been waiting for hours is causing the sufferings of the passengers.
Sources said that there were gridlocks on Wednesday in the Dhaka-Tangail highway from Elenga to Bangabandhu Bridge.
The vehicles were moving very slowly when highway police were desperately trying to make the situation normal.
The situation has been created due to the movement of hundreds of truck loaded cattle bound for Dhaka and other destinations.
Highway police sources said at least 620 policemen and 100 APBN members had been working to ease the traffic jam.
However, many said that despite this suffering on the highway, the passengers forget it when they reach home to celebrate the Eid festival.
