Frustration seized thousands at the capital’s Kamlapur Railway Station yesterday as they were unable to buy tickets in advance for the Eid ul-Azha after standing in queues for hours.
They alleged that most of the tickets were sold out within a few hours of the counters opening.
Although the sale of advanced tickets only began on Wednesday, many have already missed out on tickets after waiting in line since early yesterday morning.
Abul Kalam Azad, a businessman, said: “I opted for an AC compartment on my way to Comilla but as all the tickets were sold out I had no choice but to take a ticket in non-AC second class.”
He also said the ticket sellers were processing the ticket sales at a snail’s pace.
“The electric equipment at the counters is out dated. The computer at the counter cuts out almost every half an hour,” he complained.
Another passenger, Altaf Hossain, said: “They are spending almost 10-15 minutes on one customer to hand over the ticket.”
He claimed that in three hours only 20 people got tickets.
Within two hours, all the first class tickets for October 12 were sold out for the Chittagong-bound Turna-Nishitha, Chattala Express, Shubarna Express, Mahanagar Godhuli, Mahanagar Probhati; Dinajpur-bound Ekata Express; Rangpur-bound Agnibina Express; Rajshahi-bound Upakul Express, Kishoreganj-bound Egarasindur Pravati and Egarasindur Godhuli.
“I will come to the station again as I did not get tickets for AC compartments for any Chittagong-bound train today,” said Hafsatunnesa, a passenger.
Sukumar Barua, a passenger heading to Feni, said: “I did not get tickets for Feni so I bought tickets for Chittagong that cost more.”
Many travelers complained that railway security officers failed to maintain the queues and that many passengers were cutting in the lines.
Some also alleged that many passengers were buying advanced tickets by paying extra money.
Mansur Ali, who came to the station around 5am, said: “I saw a person cutting in the line and paying Tk20 extra to buy tickets.”
Another passenger expressed discontent over the uncouth behavior of the ticket sellers with the customers.
He said the ticket seller at counter number 2 was misbehaving with the customers.
In this regard, Mohammad Abdur Razzak, the seller at that counter, said: “I have to look after so many issues therefore sometimes I lose my temper.”
Amidst the chaotic situation, members of the Ansar force were buying tickets by cutting the lines with the help of railway security officials, alleged Rifah Rafia Haque, a university student.
When asked, Md Shahid Ullah, chief inspector of the Railway Security Force denied the allegation.
He said: “Though the Ansarr members came here, we did not let them cut the lines to buy tickets.”
Station Master Md Shakhawat Hossain Khan said: “I do not think the executives at the counters behaved badly with the passengers. This could be a misunderstanding.”
“If the ticket sellers were found to be misbehaving with the passengers they would be punished,” Station Manager Md Khairul Bashir said.
He, however, acknowledged the fact that the ticket selling process was slow.
The process includes filling out a demand paper with the passengers’ name, phone number, address, as well as the name of the train, the seat number and destination.
Passengers must then submit the filled-in form to the ticket seller for re-checking.
There are a total of 14,004 seats for the inter-city trains.
Of those, 25 percent are reserved for SMS and e-ticketing, 5 percent for VIP seating, 5 percent for staff and the regular quota carries 818 seats.
Tickets for October 12, 13, 14, 15 will be sold on October 3, 4, 5, and 6 respectively. Ticket counters will remain open from 9am to 5pm.