Home-goers travelling by launch to their respective destinations ahead of the Eid faced immense sufferings on Thursday at the Sadarghat terminal in the city over the heavy rush of passengers, according to passengers.
Thousands of passengers, including children, couples, students and old people began thronging the Dhaka River Terminal at Sadarghat early in the morning to board launches bound for their respective destinations.
At about 4:30 pm on Thursday the FE correspondent found the launch terminal jam-packed. Many passengers were waiting outside to enter the terminal. At one stage the river police stopped the passengers' entry into the terminal for the sake of security. They (law enforcing agencies) allowed them, once some of the launches carrying passengers left the terminal.
Some passengers travelling on the routes including Dhaka-Barisal, Dhaka-Patuakhali, Dhaka-Amtali via Chandpur, Dhaka-Patarhat, Dhaka-Golachipa- Khepupara, Dhaka-Barguna, Dhaka-Bhola, Dhaka-Lalmohon, Dhaka- Muladibazar, Dhaka-Chandpur-Damuddha, Dhaka-Matlab, Dhaka-Madaripur via Chandpur and Dhaka-Hularhat-Bhandaria talked to the FE.
They said they had to pay extra money for buying their tickets, since they had no option but to buy the tickets for going home with the Holy Eid just round the corner.
"The normal fare for deck on the Dhaka-Barisal route is Tk 255. But today (Thursday) I had to pay Tk 300," Jaidul, a private service holder, told the FE at aboard Barisal-bound launch.
But the launch owners denied the allegation. They said they had directed the ticket sellers not to charge the passengers extra money.
"We have strictly asked the launch owners not to charge extra money from the passengers. If we find any person involved in realising extra money, we will take stern action against them," General Secretary of Bangladesh Inland Water (Passenger transport) Sangstha told the FE on Thursday.
"We are well equipped this year. We have taken all-out steps to ensure smooth journey of the passengers," director at the marine safety and traffic management department of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) Md Shafiqul Haque told the FE Thursday.
Asked whether any unfit launch could ply during Eid, chief engineer at the department of shipping Md Fakrul Islam said that they did not allow any 'unfit launch' to ply.
"We have identified about 40 unfit launches and did not allow them to ply this time," he told the FE on Thursday.
He said they had formed a committee to examine the fitness of those launches. If there is any positive report on them, they might be allowed to ply.
"We are committed to ensuring safety and security of the passengers and we are doing our duties round the clock," a source at the Sadarghat terminal police box told the FE.
A total of 675 launches are now ferrying holiday- makers to their respective destinations on 195 river routes across the country, according to the BIWTA.
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