Dhaka almost deserted as Eid journey continues

There was less traffic on the city roads on Saturday as many Dhaka dwellers had already left for their village homes to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr with their families.

Roads were almost empty and traffic was thin at many of the key points, including Pragati Sarani, Gulshan, Tejgaon, and Moghbazar, throughout the day.

Bus and train stations were a bit crowded as people were still leaving the capital. But the Sadarghat launch terminal was less crowded compared to Friday when the mad rush for home began.

Eid will be celebrated on Monday or Tuesday, depending on when the Shawwal moon is sighted. Government job holders and many in the private sector have got a nine-day Eid vacation between April 29 and May 7 this year.

Minhazul Islam, a construction worker in Badda, told The Business Post Sunday (today) would be a holiday for him as part of the Eid vacation. He went to the Gabtoli bus terminal to travel to his hometown in Khulna.

Alauddin Mia, a CNG-run auto-rickshaw driver who was waiting for passengers on the Badda link road, said they were getting fewer passengers compared to Friday as almost all city dwellers had left for their village homes.

But he hoped the number of passengers would go up in the afternoon when apparel workers would start their homebound journeys.

Crowds at train stations

There were quite large crowds at Kamalapur and Dhaka Airport train stations. Many passengers allegedly travelled without booking tickets while trains that departed were heavily crowded.

Bangladesh Railway began selling standing tickets on April 27 for the convenience of Eid passengers. Many passengers who booked seats earlier said they were facing hassles because of the standing passengers.

Most of the trains left Kamalapur on schedule. Mohammad Masud Sarwer, station manager of Kamalapur, told the media it was good news that most of the trains had left on schedule.

He said 39 trains had left Kamalapur by the afternoon and 122 would travel to and from the station during the whole day.

“Of the tickets we sold today, 40 per cent were extra for standing passengers,” he added.

Railway officials said additional coaches were added on different routes to cope with the heavy rush of Eid passengers.

Sadarghat less crowded

The crowd at the Sadarghat launch terminal was not heavy, and launches were seen waiting for passengers. MV Adventure 5, a vessel running on the Dhaka-Chandpur route, left at 11am, but it was not crowded.

On Friday, many launches left the terminal in the morning ahead of their schedules as they were packed with passengers.

But most of the launches on the Dhaka-Barishal, Dhaka-Bhola, and Dhaka-Patuakhali routes were waiting for passengers even in the afternoon on Saturday.

Kamal Krishna Roy, a supervisor of MV Gazi Salauddin that runs on the Dhaka-Borhanuddin route, said garment workers would start their journeys in the afternoon. “We are waiting for them.”

There were light crowds at most of the intercity bus terminals, including Gabtoli, Sayedabad, Mohakhali, Kallyanpur, Fakirerpool, and Kalabagan. Like the previous day, tickets for long-distance air-conditioned buses were unavailable.

Holidaymakers boarded non-air-conditioned buses to travel to villages. Besides, there were allegations that passengers had been overcharged on different routes.