Eid holidaymakers heading home without hassle

The rush of home-bound people ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr reached its peak on Thursday as thousands left the capital by trains, buses and launches in largely safe and hassle-free journey.

There was no report of any severe traffic jam on any of the highways while almost all the trains left Dhaka on time this time.

However, there were allegations of charging excessive fares from passengers by different bus companies.

The Eid holidaymakers are not facing any hassle on the highways this time as there was no severe traffic jam.

Meanwhile, traffic congestion was created at various important points on the Dhaka-Aricha highway in Savar, Ashulia, Nabinagar and Chandra areas due to increased pressure of Eid holidaymakers.

The situation on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in Gazipur was better than the last few years.

Since Thursday morning, there were huge crowds at various important points, including Chandana intersection, on the highway and the pressure of vehicles was also very high.

There are certain routes with fewer vehicles and more commuters.

Many said they had to wait for a long time for buses, and taking advantage of this, transport workers were charging extra fare.

Buses plying the Mymensingh, Kishoreganj, Sherpur, Netrakona and other routes were charging about one and a half times more than the usual fare, they complained.

Meanwhile, the people of the country’s southeastern region were crossing the Padma River through the Paturia Ghat with relief.

Most of the ferries were spending idle time due to the low pressure of traffic. Around 10:30am, no vehicles were seen at the Zero Point of the Ghat area.

As soon as any vehicles arrived, they boarded the ferry directly.

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) Deputy General Manager at Aricha Shah Khaled Newaz said since morning there was no pressure of traffic at Paturia Ghat.

He also said 17 ferries were engaged to ferry home-bound people and vehicles on Eid and the remaining ferries are spending idle time.

As Eid is knocking at the door, the crowd of home-goers is increasing at the terminal.

Short-haul passengers are in trouble as they were forced to pay the bus fare for the last destination.

Transport owners have now taken a new tactics for charging extra fares. State transport company BRTC is also charging higher fare employing the tactic that fares must be paid for the final destination.

On Thursday, such a picture was seen at the counters of Mohakhali, Sayedabad and Gulistan in Dhaka.

Besides, those who are using local transport without getting tickets on many routes had to pay extra fare.

From Gabtoli to Paturia, Selfie Paribahan was charging Tk 300 per passenger though the normal bus fare is Tk 150. Some other bus companies -- Maumita, Robarob, Welcome and Shuktara -- are also charging extra fare.

Mohiuddin, a passenger going to Paturia from Gabtoli, said, “I’ll go to Faridpur, so I’ll need to go to Paturia. But the transport company is charging Tk 300 whereas the normal fare is Tk 150.”

BRTC is collecting fares from the passengers of Gopalganj to Khulna and Pirojpur, the last destinations of this route. BRTC is charging additional fares from passengers gonging to Faridpur, Jashore and Bhanga.

The fare in several AC buses, including Shohagh, AK Travels, Hanif and Satkhira Express, plying the Jashore-Khulna-Satkhira route is Tk 800-1,100 at other times.

However, this correspondent found that Tk 1,400-1,600 is being charged from each passenger.

Meanwhile, people started crossing the Padma Bridge with motorcycles from Thursday morning.

Bikes were allowed to ply through the service lane of the bridge from 6:00am as per the directives of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Although a toll counter was allocated for motorcycles, toll is now collected at the first two lanes due to the pressure of bikes.

After almost nine and a half months, the motorcyclists are excited to be allowed to cross the bridge. Bikers had the opportunity to cross the bridge on just one day after the inauguration of the bridge on June 25 last year.