limited income people fail to collect bus, train tickets

Yasir Wardad Thousands of limited income people failed to collect tickets of both buses and trains to go to their village homes for celebrating the Eid festival with their families for scarcity and high price of tickets. Many of the rickshawpullers and garment workers of Rangpur and Rajshahi division in the capital said that they were searching alternative ways like going home by truck. Md Rafik Mian, resident of Boda Upazila in Panchagarh district and a rickshawpuller at Nawabganj area in Old Dhaka failed to collect tickets both of buses and trains. Talking to the FE he said he tried to procure train tickets for at least Saidpur or Parbatipur through one of his relatives, but failed. "It was very tough for me to stand a day to collect tickets like others who did so. I have always a tension to manage the daily rent of my rickshaw," he said. Md Aminul Huq, a worker at a footpath shoe store at Newmarket, also a resident of Panchagarh said he had no capacity to buy a ticket of Panchagarh which costs around Tk 730 and had no time to stand before the ticket counters for a full day. Both Aminul and Rafik told the FE that they will go by truck. Atia Begum Parul, a garment worker at Mirpur Section 7 area told the FE that this year it would be comfortable as the winter is yet to come. Ms Parul informed the FE that it would take them Tk 220 to 230 to travel by truck to her village at Panchbibi in Jaypurhat district. "But you have to fight to secure some space," she said. She said if train tickets were available their journey would have been safer as the train ticket prices are maximum Tk 220. Most of the seasonal labourers in the capital would begin to leave Dhaka from Friday night, truck and bus drivers at Gabtoli area told the FE.