Home goers crowd bus, train, launch terminals

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FE Report
City dwellers have started leaving the city by all modes passenger transports to celebrate the Eid-ul-Fitr, which is less than a week away, with their near and dear ones at their village homes.
While visiting Syedabad and Gabtoli bus terminals and Sadarghat launch terminal Friday, it was found that thousands of home bound passengers were leaving the capital without much trouble mainly due to deployment of adequate number of the members of the law enforcing agencies at the terminals.
Sources at the BIWTA office at the Sadarghat launch terminal said the home bound passengers in large number started for their homes in different coastal districts from Friday. They said around 60 passenger vessels were to leave Dhaka for different coastal districts Friday.
"The rush will intensify over the next two days and it will continue until the Eid day," said an official at the BIWTA terminal office.
But, the tickets for cabins, the price of which have been increased at least by more than twice of their normal rates, are no more available. Those were sold in advance.
Shabuddin Milan, vice president of Bangladesh Launch Owners Association said: "All passengers are making their home-bound journey without much hassles. The government has employed adequate number of law enforcers to check black-marketeering of tickets and maintain law and order at the terminal."
More than 3.0 million people are expected to leave the city during the Eid vacation, of them, around 1.2 million make journey by launches while others travel in buses and trains.
Bus operators said the main rush of home-goers will be on September 29 and 30 when almost all offices will be closed on the occasion of Eid-Ul-Fitr.
Passengers alleged that the black marketeers of tickets have created an artificial crisis by buying most of the advance tickets. They are now selling them at exorbitant prices.
"This is a common picture at the bus terminals before every Eid. We are held hostage by the operators and brokers," said Ashraf Uddin who could not manage a ticket for Panchagarh for September 30.
The passengers said the transport companies are just cashing in on the rush for tickets before the festival.
However, a staff of Shyamoli Paribahan said they were compelled to increase the fare as they have to make up for the loss on the return trips to Dhaka when buses remain virtually empty.
Tickets of all luxury buses plying between Dhaka and Cox's Bazar, Dhaka-Chittagong. Dhaka -Sylhet, Dhaka-Khulna have been sold in advance.
There are no tickets for non air-conditioned buses even, said a salesman at Unique Paribahan at Syedabad.
On the other hand, the Bangladesh Railway which is expected to carry around 1600 passengers a day by inter city trains, during September 25 and October 01, will operate four special trains on different routes to facilitate home-going passengers.
The special trains will run on Dhaka-Mymensingh, Dhaka-Chittagong, Dhaka-Dewanganj and Dhaka-Rajshahi routes between September 29 and October 1.