Several bus services were charging passengers at Baipail bus stand three times the usual fares on Monday as they were heading to northern Bangladesh for their Eid holidays from Savar.
Fares rose as traffic on Nabinagar-Chandra and Dhaka-Aricha highways in Savar increased as the day progressed.
The bus fare from Savar's Baipail to Sirajganj is usually Tk250-300. However, most passengers on Monday had to pay Tk1,000. The fare for the Rangpur route, normally Tk500-600, had become Tk1,500.
Such scenes were observed by this correspondent upon visiting the Savar bus stand as well as Nabinagar, Baipail, and other important stops on the highway.
The police were performing their duties in maintaining security and properly managing traffic at intervals along the highway.
Sejan Mahmud came to Baipail to go home for Eid due to the closure of the garment factories. He was supposed to go to Sirajganj. According to government-regulated fares, his fare should be Tk300. However, after checking several buses, he could not find any that charged less than Tk1,000. Finally, he boarded an NR Transport bus, paying the additional fare.
Sejan said: "I paid extra fare to board the bus and celebrate Eid with family."
The situation was the same in the Nabinagar bus stand area. Here, too, passengers complained that the transport services charged three to four times the normal fare.
Kausar Ahmed, who will go from Nabinagar via Paturia to Rajbari, complained about the excessive fare collection, saying: "Every year during Eid, the fare increases like this. Now I am forced to pay extra to go home."
A bus driver’s assistant, seeking anonymity, said: "A little extra fare is being taken ahead of Eid. Other bus services are charging extra, too."
Moreover, many were boarding trucks and pickups to reach their destinations for cheaper fares, risking their lives.
Meanwhile, at each point of the road, including the bus stops, additional police were performing their duties. However, despite the ongoing collection of excess fares, no proactive steps by the police were observed.
Regarding this matter, Savar highway police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Ayub Ali said: "The crowd is slowly increasing. The police are working on the road. There are no reports of traffic jams. Action is being taken as soon as the issue of collecting excess fares comes to our attention. Mobile courts are also working. If any complaints are received, action is being taken."
