Brisk sale for advance Eid bus tickets

Thousands of people thronged ticket counters in Dhaka hoping to secure bus rides back home to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha with their families. Many had to return empty-handed as tickets for September 8-10 have been sold out shortly after advanced tickets went on sale, counter staffs said. Tickets for September 8 and 9 are on high demand, bus companies say. Eid-ul-Azha is expected to be celebrated in the second week of September. Ticket counters at Gabtoli, Mazar Road, Kallyanpur, Shyamoli and some counters at Sayedabad are giving out tickets. Hanif Enterprise General Manger Mosharraf Hossain said almost all of the tickets for buses travelling to the north on September 8-10 had been sold out. “We still have some tickets for September 8 morning and September 11,” he told the Dhaka Tribune. Shyamoli Paribahan's Mazar Road counter staff Asifur Rahman said they only had a few tickets available for September 9 night on the northern route. Most of the advanced tickets for the southern route have been sold out as well. Tungipara Express Sayedabad counter staff Emdadul Haq said most of the tickets for September 8 and 9 have been sold out. “We hope the rest will be sold out by tomorrow.” This time, Hanif and Shyamoli did not make their tickets available online. Many passengers complained that they had been charged extra for tickets. Hanif Enterprise's Mosharraf said they hoped to transport 12,000 passengers daily to the north during Eid. Sazzadul Islam queued up with thousands of others at the ticket counters in Gabtoli but had to return empty-handed. “I pulled some strings and finally managed a ticket for myself,” he said, giving a broad smile.