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60% of Dhaka's Eid holidaymakers to go by road: SCRF

UNB . Dhaka
13 Apr 2023 17:27:54 | Update: 13 Apr 2023 21:54:38
60% of Dhaka's Eid holidaymakers to go by road: SCRF
— UNB Photo

About 1.5 crore people are expected to leave Dhaka including Dhaka North, Dhaka South, Gazipur and Narayanganj city corporations during Eid-ul-Fitr.

Sixty per cent of them will go by road and the rest by waterways and railways, according to a report of the Shipping and Communication Reporters Forum (SCRF) released on Thursday.

However, the organisation said that the report may not be 100 per cent accurate as there is no complete database in this regard.

The report said the road transport sector has no capacity to ensure smooth journeys for such a large number of people in an orderly manner in the 9 days from April 13 to 21.

According to the SCRF observation, the toll is collected manually on many roads including national highways, some places of several long-distance roads are dilapidated and there are a significant number of risky turning points across the country.

Apart from this, motorcycles will run on the highways during Eid and there is a possibility of severe traffic jams at various points and unexpected accidents.

However, the report mentioned that if various decisions of the government are implemented along with the directives of Road Transport Minister Obaidul Quader and Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to make the Eid journey smooth, the public suffering on the roads will be reduced.

SCRF said according to the data of researchers, voluntary organisations and various organizations related to transport, about 1.5 crore people leave Dhaka during Eid.

According to the report, earlier, 25 per cent of people used to travel by waterways and 55 per cent by road during Eid-ul-Fitr. After the opening of the Padma Bridge, the rate of passengers to the southwest region has decreased by 5 per cent. On the other hand, the road passenger rate increased to 60 per cent.

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