The number of passengers at Kamalapur Railway Station increased on the second day of a blockade enforced by the BNP and its allies on Monday, with more and more people opting to travel by train for safety as inter-city bus services remained mostly suspended.
This correspondent visited the station to find long lines of people waiting to buy tickets to their desired destinations. Many were also buying tickets online to avoid queueing up there.
People at the counters said they were unable to sell tickets to everyone due to the demand and were asking passengers to wait for the next train.
Mosaddek could not buy tickets for Narsingdi even after coming to the station an hour before departure and was forced to stand in line at one of the counters for the next train with his wife and two daughters.
On the other hand, the Fahmida and Abu Hossain couple did not even manage to buy two standing tickets after looking at all the counters.
Abu Hossain said he had come to the railway station as he could not find any buses at the Mohakhali terminal. “After coming here I heard that there were no more tickets available. Now how will I travel home along with two small children while temperatures continue to drop?”
Station Master Anwar Hossain said the number of passengers at the station was unusually high as people who usually travelled by bus were also opting for trains.
He added that there were no schedule disruptions or safety issues due to the blockade.
