Homebound passengers being charged extra fares amid Eid rush

Ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, a number of long-haul bus operators have been charging extra fares to their passengers amid the transport crisis.

The complaints have been made by homebound commuters on Saturday.

Transport is running slow on the roads leading from Dhaka to various districts. However, traffic is normal in the Dhaka-bound lane.

These images were seen after visiting the Dhaka-Aricha highway, Nabinagar-Chandra and Abdullahpur-Bypail roads of the upazila on Saturday afternoon.

Traffic movement was seen slow in Aminbazar, Hemayetpur, Savar bus stand, Bish Mile, Nabinagar and Palli Bidyut on Nabinagar-Chandra highway, Bypail, Palashbari, Baraipara, Kabirpur, Chakraborty, Chandra on Dhaka Aricha highway and Jamgra, Unique, Choy tala, Ashulia and Beriband intersection areas on Abdullahpur-Bypile road.

These bus stands also witnessed crowds of homebound passengers.

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They complained about the bus operators of taking extra fares from the passengers taking advantage of the transport crisis.

A person named Akhter Hossain Rana walked to Nabinagar after waiting for an hour in the Bish mile area but did not get a bus. He will go to Sirajganj. Normally the fare on this route is Tk250-300. But today the buses are demanding Tk700-1,000.

Rana said that he is going home to celebrate Eid with my family. But he can't get a bus. He was asking for extra fare.

Sohag Hossain, the assistant to the driver of Selfi Paribahan, was calling the passenger to go from Nabinagar to Paturia.

He said that he has given two trips. The bus is filled with passengers for the third trip. Passengers are charged a little more extra fare on the occasion of Eid.

Abu Raihan, a garment worker who boarded a bus from Bypile to go to Bogra, said he got the bus after waiting for about two hours. The bus fare has been charged double.

Highway police and traffic police sources said around 5:30pm, traffic was slow for about two kilometers of the highway in Nabinagar area. Traffic is moving slowly on about one and a half-kilometer road in Jamgara area. Besides, there is a traffic jam due to passenger movement in the Bypile area.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Savar Highway Police Ayub Ali said that the traffic on the highway has been slow since noon. Police personnel are working to keep the traffic flowing.

Additional Superintendent of Police (promoted to the post of Superintendent of Police) Md Abdullahil Kafi of Dhaka district police said that there is no need to be stuck anywhere on the road. There is a slight slowdown as the number of homebound people increases.

Police are monitoring the overall situation on the road to keep the situation normal.