Amusement sites, tourist spots abuzz with visitors on Eid holidays
During the Eid holidays, people of all ages flocked to amusement sites and tourism spots in Dhaka and other parts of the country.
People enjoyed the festival in empty streets and comfortable weather, following a prolonged countrywide heatwave.
Despite the end of the Eid-ul-Fitr vacation, and the reopening of offices and businesses on Monday, the festive mood continued.
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Although the Eid holiday was over on the third day of Eid, most of the roads in the capital were empty. Many went out with their families. Some enjoyed the metro rail while others travelled to Lalbagh Fort, Ahsan Manzil, Diabari, Hatirjheel, or the zoo.
Visitors thronged Hatirjheel on Monday morning, and the crowds typically increased in the afternoon. As usual, the drizzling in the afternoon added to the joy of the visitors.
People were seen walking along the roads of Hatirjheel, with many taking selfies. The Hatirjheel water taxi was only available for travel until the third day of Eid, and it charged Tk80 for a 30-minute ride. Ticket checker Md Salman said that since the day of Eid, the boats had been used for visitors for three days, but passenger movement would be normal starting today.
Md Hira, a visitor, said, "I took a boat ride with my wife, and we felt good because there is no other open environment like Hatirjheel in the capital."
As part of the entertainment, many people also thronged to the Metro Rail stations at 1:30pm, with the highest number of passengers seen at the Agargaon station. The Bangladesh National Zoo in Mirpur, one of the entertainment centres of the capital, was crowded with thousands of people.
Md Forkan, who along with his family went from Alubazar in Old Dhaka, said, "This is a time when everyone has a holiday together. And there are no traffic jams so every year, I go out during Eid."
The Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Novo Theatre and the Bangabandhu Military Museum in the capital's Bijoy Swarani were also crowded with visitors during the Eid holidays.
Visitors say that they went to these two places to teach their children through entertainment.
In Chattogram, thousands of visitors crowded tourist spots and entertainment centres such as Patenga Sea Beach, the zoo, Kazir Deuri Children's Park, Foy's Lake Amusement World, and Water World.
According to officials at the tourist centres, the Chattogram Zoo and Patenga Beach were the most crowded on Eid day, Saturday. However, as of Sunday morning, all the entertainment centres in various parts of the port city were filled to capacity.
The presence of visitors to the entertainment centres was also noticeable on Monday.
A gathering of thousands of people took place at Patenga Beach on Monday afternoon. Visitors were seen bathing in the sea, riding speedboats, and even riding horses. They shared the joy of Eid with their family and friends on the beach.
Zahid Hasan, a college student visiting from Sitakunda, said, "I was at home on Eid day, but on the second day, I visited my relative's house. Today (Monday), I came to visit here with my friends, and there are thousands of people. It has turned into a congregation of people."
Israfil Majumder, inspector of tourist police in charge of the Patenga beach area, said, "About 40,000 visitors have arrived in the second largest beach in the country in the last three days. Particularly this time, the visitors flocked to see the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel from afar."
Biswajit Ghosh, deputy general manager of Foy's Lake Amusement Park, said, "About 20,000 visitors have visited our park and water world in the last three days."
He expects a total of 40,000 visitors for the entire week.
Shahadat Hossain, acting curator of the zoo, said wild animals, such as kangaroos, llamas, macaws, and a pair of lions, are at the centre of visitors' interest as it's the first Eid since these animals were brought in from abroad.
"Additionally, we have built a new tiger cage, and we have five white tigers, which are the main attraction for children," he added.
The presence of visitors at Agrabad Children's Park, Prajapati Park, Independence Park, Flower Garden, Jamboree Ground, Abhay Mitra Ghat, Shah Amanat Bridge, and other entertainment spots was noticeable.
Outside the city, entertainment centres built in 15 upazilas of the district, including Guliakhali Sea Beach, Chandranath Hill, Mahamaya Lake, Parki Beach, Betagi Karnaphuli River Bank, Raozan Rubber Garden, and Fatikchhari Tea Garden, were also at the centre of visitors' interest.
