Common people deprived of benefits from advance ticket sale

Common people are deprived of benefits from the ongoing advance ticket sale for different modes of transports in the city as influential quarters and the black marketeers have gobbled up major share of the tickets.
Many of the home-goers were still visiting Gabtoli, Kallyanpur, Kalabagan, Mahakhali, Fulbaria, Kamalapur, Sayedabad and Sadarghat terminal in the city to secure tickets of any mode of transport to go to their hometowns or villages to celebrate the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr with their near and dear ones.
Talking to the FE many of them claimed that they failed to get tickets despite reaching the ticket counters at right time.
Most of them alleged that politico-administration influence and black marketing left a little share of tickets for the general public.  
They said that they also were looking for the black marketeers to get tickets despite a higher rate.
Md Zakir Hossain, a private bank official said that he stood at the queue for air-conditioned (AC) bus tickets of SR Paribahan at Kallyanpur ticket counter on July 13 night.
 "Official sale began in the morning of July 14 and my serial No was 17 in the line and I was really surprised when the manager told me that all the AC tickets for July 24 and 25 of Rangpur- Nilphamari were sold out," he said.
"Many people who were a little bit behind me even failed to get non- AC tickets of July 24 and July 27," he added.   
 "Later, one of my cousins showed me the way to get tickets from alternative sources at much higher prices," he said.
 "I bought three tickets for Rangpur at Tk1400 per ticket against actual price of Tk 900," he said.
Another ticket aspirant Md Arifur Rahman told the FE that he bought two tickets (non- AC) for Debiganj under Panchagarh from Hanif Paribahan at Tk1350 each from a black marketeer against actual price of Tk 950.   
When contacted, a counter manager at Kallyanpur of SR Paribahan Md Nabi refuted allegation of any black marketing.
But he admitted that they had immense pressure from political and administrative high-ups for tickets for peak days.
An employee of Nabil Paribahan told the FE requesting anonymity that many of the bus operators were forced to sell many tickets of July 24 to 27 long before the beginning of official sale on July 14.
 "Two MPs from Dinajpur booked a significant number of our AC bus tickets of Dhaka-Dinajpur-Saidpur route for July 24, 25 and 27 long before the official sale began," he said.   
Hundreds of ticket seekers returned home empty- handed from the Kamalapur Railway Station (KRS) and Bangladesh Raod Transport Corporation (BRTC) depots on Tuesday after failing to collect tickets for northern and southern regions of the country.
Hundreds of advance ticket aspirants expressed their dissatisfaction at KRS and BRTC depots over the advance ticket sale on the third day that ended yesterday (Tuesday).
Shariful Hasan Abir, an official of a private insurance company was standing at a queue from Monday night and heard the announcement that tickets for both AC coach and chair of Lalmoni Express (Dhaka-Lalmonirhat-Dhaka) train had been finished.
Mr Abir told the FE that after failing to manage bus tickets he went there with high hopes.
 "But that effort also went in vain," he lamented.
Mubarak Ali, a garment worker was about to cry as he failed to collect a ticket of Rangpur Express, a Rangpur bound train even after waiting in line for more than 16 hours on Tuesday.
Many of the frustrated people claimed that black marketeers are very active in the field even after tight security.
Bangladesh Railway (BR) officials said that 18,500 intercity tickets have been issued of which 5 per cent for e-tickets and 5 per cent for VIPs and BR's employees.
The KRS and Airport Railway Station in the capital are selling 25,000 tickets including the advance and regular tickets.
KRS manager Khairul Bashir said there is no way of black marketing of BR tickets.
 "Actual requirement of tickets is ten times higher than the capacity," he said.
But, many of the BR officials admitted the pressure from influential persons for train tickets.
Meanwhile, most people from the Barisal region intending to celebrate the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr at their village homes failed to get launch 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.
Inland Water Transport Owners and Passenger Carriers' Association (association of the private launch owners) member Shahabuddin Milon admitted that many launch operators sold out cabin tickets much earlier to high - ups.
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.