Thousands start leaving for home

Bus, launch terminals, rail stations in city witness huge crowd as Eid holiday begins today

A father cautiously picks up his child on a launch from a crowd of homebound people at Sadarghat launch terminal as mass exodus from the capital begins ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr. Photo: Shafiqul AlamStaff Correspondent

Thousands of people left the capital for home yesterday to share the joy of Eid-ul-Fitr with family and friends as many of them got five-day festival vacation including weekly holidays.
A huge number of people were seen anxious for tickets at different terminals, particularly of long-route buses, as broker syndicates control the ticket sale in the city.
However, many of them could finally manage tickets paying double and in some cases triple the usual charges.
The staff of most of the bus counters said the tickets were already sold out although during visits to different bus terminals some staff were seen selling tickets at the counters at higher rate. They however claimed that they were not charging extra rather maintaining the government rate.
In reality, bus fare of different routes fluctuates by Tk 20 to 150 more than the usual.
Homebound people crowded the city bus and launch terminals and Kamalapur rail station after office hours yesterday.
Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) will initiate special transport arrangements from Saturday to ease the home going rush.
People of the northern districts suffered a lot yesterday as a number of trains were delayed by over two hours, as the intersections in the city were jammed with traffic.
The train Ekota Express, which was scheduled to leave Kamalapur Railway Station at 9:40 am, left at 12:20 pm.
Special train service starts from today with seven more locomotives in addition to the 22 existing ones.
At Bikash Paribahan counter in Gabtoli one Selim Sikder of Moksudpur was found bargaining with the employees, as they demanded Tk 220 per ticket instead of the usual fair at Tk 140.
Terminal authorities of Saidabad, Gabtoli and Mohakhali on loud speakers have been asking the passengers not to purchase tickets from outside the counters to avoid black marketers, brokers, frauds, muggers and other criminals.
To ease the situation for the home goers Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), police and intelligence personnel have been deployed at the terminals.
BRTC EID SERVICE
The BRTC will start its special Eid service from Saturday and it will continue for the next three days.
BRTC sources said around 500 buses--either owned by the BRTC or on lease--will ply on different inter-district routes while 77 other buses, now running as city service and staff buses, will be added to the service.
The corporation has already started selling advance tickets in Dhaka and all other BRTC bus depots across the country. People can collect their tickets at Zoarshahara, Motijheel, Kalyanpur, Mirpur-12 double-decker bus depot, Phulbaria CBS-2. The buses will leave for destinations from these places.
THE WATERWAY
With the Eid-ul-Fitr approaching the owners of passenger-launches have started charging the homebound people extra, even double the fare, in absence of proper monitoring by the authorities.
Heavy rush coupled with additional fare has doubled the sufferings of the passengers in reaching homes and relatives on the occasion of holy Eid-ul-Fitr.
Owners of the launches from Dhaka to the southern part of the country have already started selling tickets with extra fare, which is likely to continue at least 10 days after the Eid. However, they claimed that they were maintaining the rate fixed by the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) last year. The rate is yet to be revised this year.
The usual fare for Dhaka-Barisal route is Tk 80-120 per head on deck, Tk 300-350 for luxurious chair, Tk 700 for single cabin, Tk 1,000-1,200 for double cabin and Tk 1,500-2,000 for VIP cabin.
But during the Eid the fare rose to Tk 180 to 200 per person in deck, Tk 400 to 500 for luxurious chair, Tk 800 to 1000 for single cabin, Tk 14,00 to 1600 for double cabin and Tk 2,000 to 2,400 for VIP cabin.
The fare for all the places to south including on Dhaka-Bhola, Dhaka-Patuakhali, Dhaka-Chandpur, Dhaka-Rangabali routes, increased on the occasion.
Secretary of the BIWTA Monwar Hossain said the launch owners are indeed charging higher fare but it does not exceed the rate fixed by the BIWTA.
However, denying the allegations of charging extra fare President of Launch Owners Association Badiuzzaman Badal said stern actions would be taken if such allegations were proven against any launch service.
He also said the owners, who run their launches at lower fare round the year to compete with others, charge fare according to the BIWTA fixed rate during Eid season. That is why it seems to people that they are charging more during the Eid holidays.
Vice-president of Launch Owners Association Shahbuddin Milon, also the owner of MV Parabat, said, "We have to bear losses throughout the year. Eid is the high time to make up for the losses but we never charge more than the government rate."
Sources said the workers of different southbound launches are playing a vital role in making the fare go high. They by forming a syndicate grabbed most of the tickets of different launches and selling them at a high price.
Talking to The Daily Star a passenger of Bhola-bound launch yesterday alleged that the ticket manager forced him to pay Tk 900 for a double cabin while the normal rate is Tk 600.
Another passenger of a Barisal-bound launch said he faced a little difficulty buying tickets for a place on the deck, as he could not manage any for a cabin.
About security, Officer-in-charge of Kotwali Police Station Md Salauddin Khan said additional police have been deployed at Sadarghat since last Tuesday and they will remain deployed till the Durga Puja.
Operation Officer of Rab-10 ASP Enam said 35 Rab personnel have already been deployed at Sadarghat and reinforcement would be mobilised if necessary.
Asked about the monitoring activities of Sadarghat Md Shafiqul Haque, director (traffic) of BIWTA, said if the allegation of charging extra fare is proved the route permit of that launch would be suspended.
He also said a special control room has been set up from September 16 at the launch terminal to keep the law and order under control.