Eid holidaymakers face tailbacks, schedule disruptions

Eid holidaymakers began to leave the capital on Thursday for their destinations by bus, train and launch amid schedule disruptions and tailbacks at various points of the journey.

Among the home-goers, train passengers were facing the most sufferings starting from the ticket collection to timetable disaster at stations.

This timetable chaos began on 27 April, the first day of the Eid train service. A total of 15 trains departed from the Kamalapur Station, each being 20-40 minutes late.

The situation worsened on Thursday as trains arrived at Kamalapur Station late and departed with a delay of about 1-2 hours.

Mobark Hossain, a Khulna-bound passenger, said, "It's like a never-ending suffering. Braving mosquito menace and summer heat, I stood in line for 14 hours to get the ticket. Even so, I can't go home with my family in comfort."

"I arrived at the station an hour before the train was supposed to leave the station but two hours have passed already and the train has not yet arrived. I am tired of waiting," he added.

The Nilsagar Express left the station in the morning two and a half hours after the scheduled time. Moreover, the Sundarban Express arrived at Kamalapur Station more than one and a half hours after its time.

When asked, Station Manager at Kamalapur Mohammad Masud Sarwar said, "Of the trains that have left the station since morning, three on West Bengal routes were delayed."

"The schedule of the west-bound trains might be disrupted due to the single-track railway system. We have to accept it. But there is no fear of a timetable disaster in the eastern region," he added.

Meanwhile, long-haul buses are taking a long time to reach their destinations due to gridlocks on highways and ferry terminals, causing immense suffering to holidaymakers.

Jayant Chowdhury, counter master of Eagle Paribahan, said the usual traffic congestion on highways is amplified by the Eid rush. We can't maintain the schedule if vehicles arrive in Dhaka very late. Passengers are also suffering."

However, not much of a crowd was seen at various bus counters in Gabtoli and other stations.

A large number of vehicles were stranded at Shimulia and Paturia ferry terminals on Thursday.

More than three hundred vehicles were waiting for the ferry crossing on the Shimulia-Banglabazar route till Thursday noon due to Eid pressure. Only nine ferries were being operated at Shimulia ghat. The situation at Paturia ghat was also similar.

Besides, people at both ferry terminals were seen travelling by launch and speedboat to cross the Padma River despite risks and exorbitant fare.

A surprisingly low number of passengers was noticed in Sadarghat Launch Terminal on Thursday. The daytime launches were relatively empty while the night ones had passengers as usual. There was no pressure.

Jahangir Mia, master of Parabat-12 launch at Sadarghat, said, "Some 11 launches will leave Dhaka for Barishal today. But the number of passengers is lower than usual."