Train tickets for the Dhaka-bound passengers of Kishoreganj are being openly traded on the black market and being sold at far more than the original prices.
Sources said, black marketers are increasingly targeting train tickets after train journey has become popular with local residents. They move openly in the Kishoreganj Railway Station with tickets “sold under the counter.”
Passengers are forced to buy tickets from them since there are hardly any tickets at the ticket counters. Sometimes they cannot get a ticket even one week prior to a scheduled journey.
There are allegations that some corrupt railway officials are involved in this illegal trading, with passengers paying dearly for that. Sometimes one can avail a ticket by paying extra money even when tickets are said to be sold out.
According to sources, a significant portion of the tickets available on the Kishoreganj-Dhaka route, in the Agarosindhur Intercity train, are handed to the black market traders.
The actual price of a first-class ticket is Tk185, although it is being sold at Tk250-Tk300 on the black market. The price of a Subhan-chair ticket is Tk140 but it is selling at Tk200-Tk250.
Some black marketers, on the condition of anonymity, told this correspondent that they usually purchase tickets from the station authorities one week ahead of the schedule at Tk20 more than the original price.
Then, they sell those to desperate passengers at increased prices.
Md. Abdur Razzak, a passenger, said train tickets are hard to find in the counters. But they can be easily availed on the black market by those who afford to pay extra.
He also said despite various promises of the minister concerned, there has been little progress in the railway sector which had become “entrapped” by corrupt officials and their agents.
During a recent visit to the station, Dhaka Tribune found people collecting the tickets of Agarosindhur Intercity Train from the black marketers, after getting no tickets in the counter.
Commenting on the matter, Kishoreganj station master Jyanta Mazumdar denied allegations of the involvement of the station authorities in illegal ticket sale.
He, however, admitted some tickets might have “landed in the wrong hands” without their knowledge.
