Most cabin tickets go to VIPs, black marketeers

FE Report | Published: July 22, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

Most people from the Barisal region intending to celebrate the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr at their village homes failed to get cabin tickets in advance as launch owners had reportedly sold out all the tickets earlier.
Sale of the cabin tickets of the private launch operators started on July 17, but most of the tickets for July 23 to 28 had been sold out to the VIPs and black marketeers much earlier, many passengers alleged.
Rubel Hasan, a resident of Patuakhali who works in a private insurance company, told the FE that the launch owners tricked the people when they announced to sell advance tickets for Eid journey home from July 17.
Usually, launch owners sell tickets on the spot and most of the passengers who are not lucky or financially capable enough to pay for the cabin suites, use launch deck, he said.
"I failed to collect cabin tickets on July 17 morning when official sale of tickets began but almost all tickets had been sold out long before the day. It's surely a deceitful act of the owners," he said.
Latiful Haider, a bank official, came to Sadarghat Monday to collect tickets for July 26 or 27 from alternative channels to go to Barisal.
"Failing to get a double-bed cabin for July 24, I started looking for single or double cabin for next two days, but all my attempts went in vain," he said.
"Within a short time of starting selling tickets on July 17, the countermen declared that tickets for July 23 to July 28 had been sold out," he said.
"I've come again today to get tickets from a black marketeer," he said.
Mashkur Hasan, a resident of Barisal, told the FE that he had collected a ticket of a double-bed cabin for July 25 at Tk 6,500 from a man in Sadarghat.
The normal fare of a double-bed cabin is Tk 1,950 as fixed by the private launch owners, he said.
Admitting the fact an official of Suravi Launch Company, a Barisal-bound launch, told the FE that VIPs of Barisal regions have booked or bought most of the tickets with the beginning of Ramadan.
It is very tough for common people to collect cabin tickets, he said.
He said many of the tickets also went to the black marketeers and were being sold at higher rates.
An official of Parabat-11, another south-bound launch, said the ticket of a single cabin has been sold out at Tk 3,000 against the price of Tk 950 by the black marketeers.
According to Bangladesh Inland Waterway Transport Authority (BIWTA) and private launch owners, nearly 0.30 million people would travel daily against the capacity of 60,000 by launch to the coastal districts ahead of the festival.
When contacted, member of Inland Water Transport Owners and Passenger Carriers' Association (association of the private launch owners) Shahabuddin Milon said nearly 0.15 million people leave Dhaka by waterways against the capacity of 60,000 on a normal day.
The number would reach 0.30 million per day ahead of Eid, he said.
He said nearly 12,000 to 14,000 cabins are required per day during the festival for the passengers travelling to the Barisal region against the availability of 2,250 to 2,300 cabins, he said.