Thousands of homebound travellers, particularly readymade garment workers, faced severe traffic congestion, overcrowded transport, and inflated fares on the Dhaka–Aricha and Nabinagar–Chandra highways on Friday as the Eid exodus intensified.
Traffic remained slow-moving from morning to noon in key areas of Savar and its adjoining industrial zones due to a sharp increase in vehicles and passengers. Continuous rainfall since morning further worsened the situation, adding to commuters’ suffering.
A visit to major bus terminals, including Nabinagar, Baipail, and Pallibidyut, showed long queues at ticket counters, with many passengers returning without tickets due to a shortage of seats. Several counters displayed “no seats available” notices, while hundreds of long-distance buses were seen parked along roadsides since the previous night.
From around 11AM, congestion intensified in Palashbari, Baipail, Bishmile, and C&B areas, creating long tailbacks.
Major congestion points included Hemayetpur, Amin Bazar, Genda, Ulail, Nabinagar, Sripur, and Jirani Bazar.
Passengers alleged that transport workers were charging excessive fares, taking advantage of the Eid rush. Many said they were forced to pay nearly double the regular fare to secure a seat.
Shetu Akter, a garment worker travelling to Rangpur, said she had been waiting for hours. “A Tk700 ticket is being sold for Tk1,200 to Tk1,500,” she said.
Sharif Islam, another passenger heading to Jessore, said, “They are asking Tk800 to 900 for a Tk450 - 500 trip. We have no choice.”
However, transport operators denied the allegations. A supervisor of a transport company on the Barisal route also claimed that fares remained unchanged, although he acknowledged the high demand. Despite widespread complaints, authorities said no formal complaints had yet been filed.
Sheikh Shahjahan, officer-in-charge of Savar Highway Police, said police had been working since early morning to ease traffic and had deployed additional personnel on the highways. “We will take action if any formal complaint regarding overcharging is received,” he said.
Additional Superintendent of Police (Traffic) of Dhaka district (North), Arafatul Islam, said the pressure on roads increased significantly after garment factories began closing for Eid holidays. He added that police had been working for the past few days to manage traffic.
Meanwhile, disorder on highways further aggravated congestion. Battery-run auto-rickshaws were seen operating freely on both service lanes and main roads, especially in Amin Bazar, Savar, Nabinagar, and Baipail areas. Random stopping of buses to pick up passengers and haphazard parking near bus stands also slowed traffic movement.
In the Pakiza area, road narrowing due to ongoing construction, combined with unregulated vehicle movement, created frequent bottlenecks.
Transport insiders warned that passenger pressure would increase further in the coming hours before Eid. They stressed the need for coordinated efforts, stricter traffic management, designated boarding points and control of unauthorized vehicles to ease congestion.
