No hassle on the first day of Eid trips

Holidaymakers did not face any hassle in their travels to village homes on Monday, the first day of Eid trips on advanced tickets.

All inter-city train and long-haul bus stations in the capital were found to have an affordable number of commuters. Launches at the Sadarghat terminal, which have been struggling since the opening of the Padma Bridge, also got their expected number of passengers on the day.

At the Kamalapur Railway station, passengers were seen entering the station platform by showing tickets in their hands, which prevented chaos and the entry of non-commuters to the station area. Security forces were in strong monitoring there.

The railway authorities last week fenced the entrances of the station with bamboo to make this happen. 

"Every year I go home by train from the Kamalapur station. The previous years' situation used to be the worst, but this time I find a big difference," Rubina Akhter, a regular train passenger, told The Business Standard.

"Now everything is neat and orderly. There are no extra people. We purchased advanced tickets online and got our train on time," she added.

There was no rush to board trains on the day. No extra passengers were seen inside the train, as well. Most trains moved at the scheduled time.

Some people thronged the station counter to buy standing tickets in the morning, but their number decreased sharply over the rolling of time. "Today is the first day of the Eid journey on advanced tickets. Those travelling today purchased tickets on 7 April. Almost all the trains have left on time since the morning. Only the Mahanagar Prabhati was delayed two hours due to an accident in Cumilla," Kamalapur Station Manager Mohammad Masud Sarwar told The Business Standard.

He noted that 52 trains were scheduled to leave Dhaka for different destinations throughout the day. Of them, 37 were intercity and 15 were mail, local and commuter trains. "Apart from these, 3 Eid special trains will move from tomorrow [Tuesday]."

No rush for buses

On Monday, long-haul buses saw no extra passenger pressure. Most buses left Dhaka with passengers in their capacities. "Rushes are expected to start tomorrow as most people will get their vacations," said Abdul Alim, a sales representative of the Unique bus.

Hanif Paribahan Counter Master Jalal Uddin also echoed the same and said their advanced tickets will be rolled out from Tuesday. "We are providing a regular number of trips today [Monday]".

Bus staff also said they found roads free of traffic jams on the day. "If road conditions remain okay, there will be no problems on this Eid," said Jalal Uddin.

Launch owners happy with increased passengers

Launch owners, who were upset about the shortage of passengers since the opening of the Padma Bridge, are now happy with the increased passengers. Most launches left the Sadarghat terminal for Southern regions with a good number of passengers on Monday.

"It is good to see that our passengers have been on the rise. Yet, we expect a higher number of commuters," Launch Owners Association Secretary General Shahidul Islam Bhuiyan told The Business Standard.

"We had bad days last Eid. Hopefully, it will not happen this time. We are planning to increase the number of vessels depending on passenger pressure," he added.