Before they could start the journey toward their village homes to spend the Eid vacation, Dhaka residents had to face several daunting tasks yesterday.
They had to penetrate the traffic congestion that formed near the transport terminals, secure a place to sit or stand on their preferred mode of vehicle, remain patient for hours before the vehicle arrived – all while clawing their way out of a myriad of touts and unscrupulous officials trying to sell tickets at higher rates.
Although traffic volume on most of the capital's roads remained relatively light yesterday, Dhaka residents had to endure long tailbacks that formed on most roads leading to the terminals.
“Normally, I face troubles getting a bus from Mirpur to Sadarghat; but I found a bus quite easy this year and thought the journey would be smooth. However, I was proved wrong when I reached near the terminal. It took almost an hour to go from Banglabazar to Sadarghat,” said Mohammad Shahjahan, a garment worker who was going to his home in Bhola.
With Eid-ul-Azha knocking at the door, all the bus, launch and train terminals in the city saw added rush of home-bound passengers yesterday.
The desperation of going home to their loved ones also prompted many to risk their lives by climbing on top of trains or by getting on overcrowded launches.
Sufferings awaited passengers on all modes of travel as they readied to leave Dhaka for the holidays.
Bus passengers accused bus companies of charging outrageous prices for tickets, train passengers complained of having to wait a long time at the platform because some trains missed their schedules, while launch passengers claimed they had to climb onto vessels that were packed like sardines.
Risky ride in launch
Following the capsize of the Pinak 6 launch right after Eid-ul-Fitr this year, the government reportedly took measures to prevent overcrowding of launches.
However, visiting Sadarghat yesterday, the Dhaka Tribune found that many of the launches were taking in too many passengers to fill the vessels to their brims. To ensure maximum profit, most launches also endangered passengers’ lives by allowing extra people to get a ride on the roof of the vessels.
Joynal Abedin, joint director of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) who is also in charge of Sadarghat terminal, told the Dhaka Tribune that they were trying their best to ensure that launches were not overcrowded. However, he admitted that some launch owners were not paying heed to their warnings.
Claiming that a mobile court had fined three launches for taking extra passengers, Joynal said as of 8pm, at least 90 launches had left Sadarghat yesterday and 20 more were also set to leave during the night.
Trains behind schedule
A large number of people had to face hours of wait at train platforms as several trains were behind schedule.
Disgruntled passengers at the Kamalapur Railway Station claimed that the Mohanagar Godhuli – which travels between Dhaka and Chittagong – was supposed to leave the Dhaka station at 4:20pm, but did not reach the station until 7:15pm. Passengers of Mohanagar Provati – which also travels on the same route – also had to suffer as the train started three hours behind schedule earlier in the day.
The Syedpur-bound Nil Sagor Express left Kamalapur at around 11am instead of its scheduled time at 8am, as the train failed to reach the station on time.
However, Divisional Railway Manager Kamrul Ahsan claimed that out of the 130 trains that operated between Dhaka and other districts, only seven to eight might have missed their timetable.
Meanwhile, a large number of people who were unable to secure a seat in train, crowded the ticket booths to buy standing tickets instead. In a desperate attempt to reach home, many also chose to climb on top of the roof of the train.
Those who had tickets for seats also faced a different kind of a challenge: reaching their designated seats through the sea of people packed inside the compartments.
“I am anxious whether I would be able to reach my seat or not,” said Ashrafunnessa, who was traveling with her younger sister to Sylhet by Parabat Express.
To meet the extra rush of passengers, the railway authority yesterday launched three special trains bound to Khulna, Dinajpur and Dewanganj, a service that would continue until Sunday before starting again on Tuesday.
“The special trains will resume traveling from those places to Dhaka from Tuesday just after the Eid day and continue for the next seven days to bring people back to the capital,” said Md Shakhawat Hossain Khan, station manager of Kamalapur Railway Station.
He also claimed that the schedule mismanagement was caused by the heavy pressure of passengers, as it took more time for people to board and get off the trains at different stations.
Shakhawat also blamed the temporary cattle markets that were set up on or near rail tracks across the country, forcing the trains to run at lower than usual speeds.
Extra bus fare
With most of the advance tickets already sold out, one of the main complaints by bus passengers was that they were charged outrageous prices for tickets.
Visiting Sayedabad bus terminal yesterday, the Dhaka Tribune found truth to their claims as many bus officials were seen to be taking extra money from the passengers.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, several passengers claimed that bus operators had been charing at least Tk50-Tk100 more than the regular fares. They also claimed that many buses were also late to reach the terminal.
Bus operators, however, claimed that the delay was because of traffic congestion on the highways.
Meanwhile, during a visit to Sayedabad yesterday, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader stopped a Companyganj-bound bus for charging extra to sell tickets to its passengers.
After being notified by passengers, the minister rushed to the terminal gate and stopped the bus from leaving.
“No magistrate is with me, so no action has been taken immediately against the bus officials. But we have kept the [registration] number and name of the bus owner. After Eid, action will be taken against the bus owner and the people concerned,” Obaidul said.
The minister also forced the bus authority to return the extra fare to the passengers.
The government would take action after Eid against the bus operators who collected extra fare from the passengers, he told reporters.
Snubbing out claims about traffic gridlocks on the highways, the minister said buses were running only at slow speed as there was a large number of buses operating ahead of the festivals.
