With only a handful left before Eid, homebound people yesterday began to leave the capital in large numbers boarding different modes of transportation.
Although the Eid vacation starts on July 28, a large number of people took leave on the only opening day Sunday to embark on a hassle-free journey home.
The travellers preferred setting out for their village yesterday as it was the last working day of the week.
The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority and Bangladesh Road Transport Authority kicked off their first Eid special service from yesterday.
According to sources of bus, train and launch services, all advance tickets for the Eid special journey were sold out.
The mad rush of homebound passengers would continue till next Monday.
At least 15 lakh city dwellers would leave the Dhaka, giving it in return a short respite from the daily hustle and bustle.
Visiting two major bus terminals, Sayedabad and Gabtoli, Kamalapur Railway Station and Sadarghat Launch Terminal, it was found that passengers from different directions of the capital were pouring into the stations to board the vehicles.
The lawmen have taken special security measures to ensure a hassle-free journey for the them.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Benazir Ahmed said additional police and plain-clothes detectives were on duty along with regular forces at key points of the city to maintain law and order.
The Dhaka Tribune correspondent met with one government employee Fazlul Haque who had been waiting at Kamalapur Railway Station to board a Rajshahi-bound train.
Fazlul said: “I am leaving the city a bit early just to avoid harassment.”
On the other hand scores of people were hankering after Eid special train tickets at the station counters after tickets for regular trains ran out.
Around 64 regular trains roll out of the Kamalapur Railway Station daily.
In addition, three pairs of special intercity trains will commute between Dhaka and Dewanganj of Mymensingh, Parbatipur of Dinajpur and Khulna to cope with the rush of passengers.
“Besides, a total of 166 coaches will be added to the entire rail network to cope with the Eid rush,” said Tafazzal Hossain, director general of Bangladesh Railway.
He told the Dhaka Tribune a foolproof security measure had been adopted to ensure a comfortable journey for passengers and CCTVs installed at the key points of the station to check on the movement of people.
At the Sadarghat Launch Terminal, thousands of passengers gathered 3-4 hours earlier than the departure time of the water vehicles.
“I came early to get a seat on the deck as I haven’t found any cabin ticket,” said Hasan Javed, a student of Jagannath University.
The road heading towards Sadarghat Launch Terminal from Gulistan was clogged with traffic on the day as a large number of city dwellers were leaving for home.
According to the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority, the special launch service that started from yesterday would run till next five days after Eid.
It will operate service on 39 routes across the southern part of the country.
The private bus authorities began operating their special service yesterday.
The countermen at Sayedabad and Gabtoli bus terminals said the advance tickets of all bus routes had been sold out.
Mohibul Haque, manger of Sohagh Paribahan of Kalyanpur counter, told the Dhaka Tribune although a large number of people had been leaving the capital, the rush of passenger would be felt from the evening of July 27 and July 28 as the Eid vacation started.
