DU Correspondent :
The online ticketing system of Bangladesh National Museum to buy entrance ticket for visiting the Museum is a complex process and thereby suffer.
The ticket counter of the two sites of the Museum were closed as all tickets were supposed to be booked online. The visitors specially who do not use smartphone or who are ignorant to use smartphone have to face trouble while buying tickets for entry into the Museum.
Besides, when someone wants to see the National Museum, he/she does not get ticket when the internet connection is poor.
When the on-spot ticket sales remain closed, online tickets also are not available due to the complexity of the process and the server.
However, despite the transmission rate of Covid-19 remaining low and the number of visitors increase, there is no physical ticketing system in place yet, visitors have to book tickets online after completing registration process and make online payments from the museum’s website.
Didarul Islam, a resident of Tongi who came to visit the Museum with his friends, said, “I am not agreed with the system. I have bought ticket after completing registration process but printing option of the online ticket does not appear. I suspect now, whether I could visit the Museum or not.”
Not only Didarul, many people are trying to buy ticket through online in front of National Museum more than hours, some visitors fail and lead to buy ticket from black market at exorbitant prices.
While the regular entry fee to the museum is Tk 20, they have to pay up to Tk 30 to 60 for each ticket bought from the black market.
“Where all the people over the country do not have relevant knowledge for buying ticket. Why dose the online ticketing system for all?” Visitor Sayam Hoque said.
The National Museum reopened after seven months closure as pandemic hiatus on August 23, 2020. At that time, online ticketing system was launched for avoiding public gathering. At first, some 600 visitors used to visit the museum every day. The number has now reached 1,500.
When contracted Md Kamruzzaman, Director General of Bangladesh National Museum, about the suffering, told to The New Nation, “We heard about the problem.We reached a decision in this regard in the last board meeting.The physical ticket along with online ticket will be launched within two or three days.”
“500 physical tickets for each day and 1,000 for weekend day will be introduced in addition to online ticket as well as 1,500 online ticket will continue,” he added.
