With Eid-ul-Fitr two weeks away, hordes of holiday-makers will soon be leaving the capital city to their respective hometowns, but not before facing a whole host of infrastructural and administrative issues when it comes to making travel arrangements.
Purchasing tickets, whether for trains or launches, during the Eid rush has historically been an issue for Bangladeshis, which is the direct result of a lack of a smooth and systematic ticket booking system. Our railway administration has especially been unable to deliver on this, and not just due to the excessive levels of corruption which plagues their administrative systems.
While it is good to know that Bangladesh Railway is all set to start selling advance train tickets for Eid-ul-Fitr this year, it is more so encouraging to know that tickets this year will also be available through Bangladesh Railway’s website and mobile app.
Going home for the Eid holidays should not be as Herculean a task as it always proves itself to be for Bangladeshis twice every year, even without the help of technology to help book tickets purchasing them should always follow a “first come, first serve” basis, which is almost never the case. When it comes to launches, the administration’s promises over the past years for increasing the number of ferries and launches available at the Daulatdia ghat have consistently been broken.
Why and how are these problems never addressed?
While the overarching solution to these problems invariably comes down to the centralization of our economy, which has resulted in our nation’s overall infrastructural development continue at a snail’s pace, there are short-term solutions the government can and should consider to make sure that the travel process is smooth for everyone.
Increasing the number of ferries and launches is one of the biggest ways this can be achieved, while the modernization of ticketing systems is unavoidable at this point.
We all deserve a stress-free holiday.
Thursday, June 04, 2026
