Dhaka experienced a massive exodus during the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays, with millions of residents heading to their hometowns or traveling abroad. Mobile tracking data from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) revealed that more people left the capital each day than entered it throughout the holiday period.
Between March 28 and April 3, around 1.07 million SIM users departed from Dhaka, while only about 4.44 million entered the city. The highest single-day departure occurred on March 30, when nearly 2.4 million SIM users left, compared to just 491,088 arrivals. April 3 recorded the largest return influx, with 998,579 SIM users re-entering the capital, although some 800,000 also exited on the same day.
The figures, based on mobile SIM tracking, were shared on social media by Faiz Ahmad
Taiyeb, Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor in charge of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology. Operator-specific data showed Grameenphone users accounted for the largest share of departures, with over 6.375
million leaving Dhaka during the holiday week.
A 2023 study by BUET's Prof. Md. Hadiuzzaman estimated that 12 million people left Dhaka in
the four days before Eid that year. This year, the average daily departure over a seven-day period reached about 1.53 million.
While the data reflects unique SIM users, it does not capture all individuals-many children and elderly
travelers do not carry mobile phones. Hence, the actual number of people leaving Dhaka is likely higher.
The return flow to Dhaka peaked on April 4, with nearly a million SIM users arriving, just ahead of office reopenings, marking the
busiest post-Eid return day.
