Eid-ul-Fitr always comes with the challenge of hordes of people leaving the capital, but this year, as per estimates, the number shall be even greater. According to a recent study conducted by BUET, about 3 million travelers will leave Dhaka each day for Eid, but only 1.6 million have secured transport for the trip.
We have already had issues with smooth and systemic ticketing systems, and the new system, instead of helping people, has the possibility of complicating matters further. With this new data, it is easy to predict that the various ticketing systems pertaining to different methods of travel will face even more bottlenecks and dubious activities.
There is also the issue of excess pressure on both roads and waterways due to too many people leaving at once. While the streets of Dhaka are comparatively free during Eid, the roads and waterways leading outside of Dhaka get clogged up. After two years of living under Covid-19 restrictions, we have already seen what the pressure of travellers can do to the whole transport system of the nation when people get holidays.
This Eid too, people will get a long break, and the dire condition of roads, highways, and waterways, coupled with the issues in the ticketing system, could be the makings of an impending disaster.
Given that this is an issue that the authorities should have become prepared for and given that a lot of this is a result of existing issues in our connectivity infrastructure, we need to make sure that they can limit unfortunate incidents. There should be a reasonable bar in place of the current one ticket per person rule.
Authorities should also be on high alert so that tickets aren’t bought beforehand and are sold on the black market. A special attention has to be given to buses and launches so that no vehicle is overcrowded. Lastly, the authorities have to be extra vigilant to make sure that accidents are at a minimum.
Going home during the holidays has become part and parcel of our culture. The authorities need to do their part in protecting it.
