Millions leave for village homes to celebrate Eid tomorrow
A three-day public holiday on the occasion of Eid beginning today will be followed a two-day weekly holiday, virtually making it a five-day Eid holiday.
Life in the capital is unlikely to get back its usual pace until mid- January.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. In the last several days, over three million have already left the city while more than a million would leave today, unofficial estimates said.
A virtually unending stream of people -- men, women and children-- crowded the city's inter-district bus terminals, Kamalapur railway station and Sadarghat launch terminal yesterday as on the previous few days.
They were braving a lot of troubles and even risking their lives with many of them travelling in unfit launches and buses to reach home before the Eid.
As the rush of home-goers climaxed yesterday, thousands suffered due to scarcity of bus, train and launch tickets at counters, scapling of tickets at exorbitantly high rates, shortage of fit vehicles, nagging traffic jams and also mugging and security problems.
Many of them however said they would forget all their sufferings once they reached home.
It is feared that over two lakh people may not be able to go home before the Eid as a large number of transports could not ply as dense fog blanketed vast areas in the country yesterday. Movement of ferries in Paturia-Doulatdia and Kazirhat routes on the Jamuna river was badly disrupted due to poor visibility caused by fog.
All launches that departed Dhaka for Patuakhali on Sunday night reached their destinations around eight hours late. Long-distance buses in different rotes from the capital also faced similar problems. fog.
Meanwhile, taking advantage of the unusual rush of passengers, many unfit launches and buses were pressed into service.
Sadarghat Launch Terminal
About 300-350 launches, including many unfit ones, left Sadarghat launch terminal yesterday, carrying passengers far beyond their capacity. Normally around 100 launches ply from Sadarghat everyday, terminal source said.
Despite the authorities' strong warning against overloading and operation of vessels in poor condition, around 200 unfit launches are carrying Eid passengers in the name of special service under the law enforcers' nose.
Unusual traffic jam added to miseries of the home-goers. They took to three hours to reach the Launch terminal from Gulistan.
No cabin tickets were available at ticket counters but brokers in connivance with launch staffs were selling those at three to four times the normal fare.
Many brokers illegally occupy space in the vessels before they anchor at the terminal and charge Tk 50 to Tk 80 from each passengers to allow them to sit there. But mobile courts were yet to take any steps to stop such illegal practices.
Kamalapur Railway Station
No tickets for trains are available now except that for standing in the compartments, railway officials said.
Normally 30 trains leave the station a day but 38 trains left yesterday. Extra compartments were also added to cope with the rush, they mentioned.
Two to 12 extra compartments were added with each train yesterday and the same will be done tday," said Nitendra Saha, station master at Kamalapur.
Bus Terminals
A large number of passengers, who failed to procure advance tickets, left the capital by unfit buses yesterday with the law enforcers reaming silent spectators to this.
These buses left inter-district bus terminals at Gabtali, Mohakhali and Jatrabari in the name of 'extra service'.
Our Chittagong correspondent adds: Lakhs of people left the port city yesterday and on the previous few days to celebrate the Eid-ul-Azha at their village homes in different upazilas of Chittagong and other districts.
The number of home-goers from the port city however vary widely in case of the Eid-ul- Fitr and the Eid-ul Azha. About 6 to 8 lakh city dwellers out of 38 lakh go home before the Eid-ul- Azha and 10 to 12 lakh before the Eid-ul- Fitr, sources said.
Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) authorities have stepped up security to ensure law and order in the city, especially the cattle markets and bus and rail stations, on the eve of the Eid.