Transport operators and officials have expressed their concern over facing immense difficulties in handling extra pressure of home-goers ahead of the two major religious festivals.
The holiday makers will enjoy official leaves on the two occasions of Muslim and Hindu communities - the Eid-ul-Azha and the Durga Puja - almost at the same time, putting extra burden on the operators to manage the rush of ticket seekers, they said.
Private bus companies will start selling advance tickets tentatively from September 19, operators said.
"The transport company owners will sit in next three days to fix the schedule of special ticket sale. But it is likely to start from September 19, as it is a weekly holiday
(Friday)," said Md Samad Mondol, manager of Hanif Paribahan, the country's biggest private bus operator.
He said the Durga Puja will be celebrated from September 30 to October 4, while the Eid-ul-Azha will be observed on October 5 or 6, depending on sighting of the moon.
"Last official day before formal vacation of the two festivals is October 2 (Thursday). Most of the people will fight for collecting tickets of Thursday and Friday, as the Bijaya Dashami, the last day of the Durga Puja will be celebrated on October 4 (Saturday) and the Eid-ul-Azha on October 5 or 6," he said.
Md Awal, counter manager of Nabil Paribahan at Gabtoli, said it will be difficult to manage the mad rush of ticket seekers ahead of the festivals.
He said they have capacity of providing 1,200-1,250 tickets per day before Eid for five districts of Rangpur division. But nearly 15,000-20,000 home-goers will stand on the queue to collect tickets for October 2 and 3.
Sale of advance bus tickets for the northern, north-western and southern districts is likely to begin from September 19. Public sufferings for getting tickets will be more intense in the Eid-ul-Azha festival compared to that of the Eid-ul-Fitr, he opined.
"Tickets for trips from September 30 to the day before the Eid will be counted as festival tickets. Prices will be the same as were in the Eid-ul-Fitr, Tk 50-60 more than the usual prices," he added.
Meanwhile, passengers of 16 districts of Rangpur and Rajshahi divisions and 10 districts of Jessore and Khulna regions will come under fresh fare hike ahead of the festivals.
The fare is likely to be as Tk 450 (Sirajganj) to Tk 750-800 (Chapainawabganj and Panchagarh), while Tk 600 (Satkkhira) to Tk 700 (Bagerhat), said officials of Hanif Paribahan, Nabil Paribahan, SR Paribahan, Shohag Paribahan, Shyamoli Paribahan and Bablu Paribahan.
Bangladesh Railway (BR) has decided to sell advance tickets from September 26, following a meeting at the Railway Ministry. Railway Minister Md Mujibul Haque disclosed this at a press briefing on Tuesday.
People will be allowed to collect their tickets from September 26 to 30, while tickets from September 30 to October 4 will be given on the days of travel, according to the minister.
Train tickets will be sold from the counters of Dhaka and Chittagong railway stations from 9:00am to 5:00pm on those days.
He said all the BR officials concerned have been directed to take necessary measures immediately for improving standard of services and ensure hassle-free journey of the passengers.
Many BR officials, however, admitting shortage of compartments, said they will try their best to tackle the decade-old problem.
The official also said the rush will be huge this year due to short vacation before the two major festivals.
Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC), Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) and private launch operators are yet to take any decision regarding advance sale of tickets, officials said.
The government officials and private operators said approximately 2.5 million people leave Dhaka per day on normal days. Of them, some 2.3 million travel through buses, 0.143 million through waterways, 0.05 million through trains, and 7,000-8,000 through airways.
But the number of passengers normally goes up by more than three times during such festivals, putting tremendous pressure on the operators.
