Eid rush to roots: Dhaka, Ctg look almost deserted

Thousands of residents left Dhaka and Chattogram cities for their native homes by trains, buses and launches on Thursday to celebrate the holy Eid-ul-Fitr festival with their near and dear ones.

While visiting Kamalapur Railway Station in the capital, the FE found large crowds of passengers who were travelling to their destinations.

Sources said the number of Eid holidaymakers was higher on Thursday compared to previous days'.

The residents from Chattogram are also leaving the port city to celebrate their religious festival with their relatives.

The port city of Chattogram looked deserted as its residents from different districts and upazilas of the district are heading to their village homes. The exodus began on Tuesday evening. However, officials and other staff members of Chittagong port are not leaving their workstations as the port will continue to operate under special management during the Eid holidays.

Some people trying to go home are facing difficulties because advance tickets for buses, trains and other vehicles have already been sold out.

Many were seen waiting in long queues at Chattogram rail station for tickets, but the rail authorities failed to provide them with tickets.

In Dhaka, most trains maintained their scheduled departure times on Thursday, except for Chilhati-bound Nilsagar Express.

Bangladesh Railway (BR) authorities have already sold advanced Eid tickets online to help passengers travel as their train schedules.

While most intercity trains left on time, passengers travelling on commuter trains had to wait several hours for tickets on Thursday.

The BR authorities only sold tickets for commuter train two hours before departure, causing a rush of passengers to the ticket counters early Thursday.

Many passengers told the FE that they arrived at the station early Thursday to get tickets to go to their respective destinations.

A passenger, Delwar, arrived at Kamalapur station in Dhaka after Sehri and planned to travel to Mymensingh by Mohua commuter train.

He waited two and a half hours for three tickets.

Khorshed Alam, another passenger, arrived early Thursday for commuter train tickets with his family. He prefers train travel during Eid due to traffic congestion and overcharging by bus operators.

The BR authorities announced that 120 intercity trains would operate during Eid-ul-Fitr, along with five pairs of special trains, commuter, mail, and local trains to help passengers reach their destinations for the festival.

The BR authorities cancelled the halts of nine Dhaka-bound intercity trains at the airport railway station.

Kamalapur railway station manager Sahadat Hossain stated that a large number of homeward passengers typically travel from Kamalapur station by train to celebrate the Eid at their ancestral homes.

The BR authorities are committed to ensuring passenger safety and security, with additional measures in place.

Security forces like the RAB, Ansar, police, GRP, and Railway Nirapatta Bahini are deployed at the station.

The BR authorities also started selling Eid return tickets, with tickets for return journeys on April 6 sold on Thursday.

Tickets for April 7, 8, and 9 will be available on March 28, 29, and 30 respectively.

For passenger convenience, the BR authority stopped issuing tickets for travel between Dhaka and Joydevpur (Gazipur).

Many passengers were seen leaving the capital by buses and launches. Launch operators confirmed they were not overcharging passengers and that travel was hassle-free.

Bus terminals at Sayedabad, Mohakhali, and Gabttoli were filled with thousands of passengers leaving the city to celebrate Eid with their families.

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