The exodus of homebound people from the capital Dhaka got pace from Thursday, the last working day for government, semi-government and many private offices before Eid-ul-Fitr.
According to sources, the number of homebound people on the Eid occasion seems to have increased this year compared to the last two years as the COVID-19 situation is almost under control.
They said that mass people are leaving Dhaka before the Eid holiday to avoid suffering. The pressure of people has started increasing gradually at the terminals of long distance transports like bus, train and launch.
Witnesses said, people are thronging different bus terminals to share the joy of Eid with their families. On the other hand, overflowing crowds were also seen at Kamalapur and Biman Bandar railway stations. The same scenario was also seen at the SadarGhat launch terminal, the main transportation hub for people of the country’s South zone.
Many of the homebound people alleged that different bus owners were charging additional money as ticket fare on various excuses. Many of the homebound people are also facing various other hassles.
Like every year during Eid travel, the highest rush is being noticed on the railways. Wednesday was the first day of Eid journey by the train fixed by the government. Thursday morning, the second day of the train journey, trains were seen leaving Kamalapur railway station for different parts of the country.
Although the home bound people expressed their displeasure over the delay of different trains on the first day, trains left Dhaka on Thursday timely.
Many of the homebound people reached the Kamalapur Railway Station early in the morning so that they could manage tickets for their destinations. They also said that they had to face severe difficulties to manage tickets. Many of them claimed that they had to collect tickets through brokers by paying extra money.
Railway officials said that around 53,000 passengers are expected to travel from capital Dhaka to different parts of the country by train every day during this Eid vacation. Of them, only intercity trains will have more than 26,000 seats.
However, a large number of extra people usually travel without sitting arrangement.
According to sources, like different bus, train and launch terminals in capital Dhaka, heavy crowds were also seen at Maowa and Daulatdia area where people have to cross the river Padma by launch or ferry.