An estimated 17.27 million people will leave the greater Dhaka area for Eid-ul-Fitr.
These individuals are permanent and temporary residents of Dhaka, Gazipur, and Narayanganj cities, as well as various districts within the Dhaka division.
This information was published in a joint observation report on Sunday by the National Committee for the Protection of Waterways, Roads, and Railways, and the Shipping and Communication Reporters' Forum (SCRF) of Dhaka’s media professionals.
Of this large number, 60% will travel by road, while the remaining 40% will use waterways and rail. Therefore, the number of road travelers will total approximately 10.36 million, as per the report.
According to the most recent population census and other sources, the population of the Dhaka division is about 45 million, with 20 million residing in Dhaka North and South cities.
Gazipur, home to nearly 70% of the country's ready-made garment factories, has a population of about 7.5 million, while Narayanganj city has 3 million people. Together, the population of these three metropolitan areas is 30.5 million.
Additionally, about 5.5 million people live in these three districts, with 4.6 million residing in Manikganj and Narsingdi districts.
The total population outside of the city corporations in these five districts is 10.1 million.
A significant portion of these people will travel to visit relatives for Eid.
The National Committee for the Protection of Waterways, Roads, and Railways, and SCRF, citing sources from research social organizations and transportation-related agencies, state that 50% of the population from industrial and commercial cities like Dhaka, Gazipur, and Narayanganj will leave their homes for Eid.
Meanwhile, 20% from other areas in these districts will also travel.
This means 15.25 million people from the three metropolitan cities and 2.02 million from other areas of the five districts will leave for their homes.
However, both organizations acknowledge that the data in the report may not be 100% accurate.
Ashish Kumar Dey, the general secretary of the National Committee, said: “It is very difficult to obtain accurate statistics as the concerned government and private agencies do not maintain relevant data."
On the other hand, SCRF General Secretary Lion Mohammad Jahangir Alam claimed that although the statistics may not be entirely accurate, the margin of error would not be significant.
The report also highlights that the road transport sector lacks the capacity to efficiently transport such a large number of people to their destinations within just one week.
Many long-distance roads are still in poor condition, and over 500 dangerous curves exist across the country, the report said.
The report mentions that trucks, pickup vans, motorcycles, and private cars will be operating on highways during Eid.
Additionally, many tolls on highways are collected manually, the report said.
There are also issues like inadequate transport availability, faulty vehicles, unskilled drivers, weak traffic management on roads, and a lack of strict law enforcement, the report added.
These factors are likely to result in long traffic jams, disruption of bus schedules, and other public inconveniences and accidents, as per the report.
However, the report praises the government's preemptive decisions, stating that if these decisions are implemented effectively, public inconvenience and accidents will decrease.
