With Eid-ul_Azha only a day away, tens of thousands of people left the capital Wednesday,the last working day, by buses, trains and water vessels to celebrate the great festival of sacrifice at ancestral homes in the countryside.
The railway stations, as well as the bus and launch terminals were over crowded with the home goers waiting to board the transports to reach their homes.
On the eve of the three-day public holiday, beginning today, men, women and children, reached the railway stations and the bus and launch terminals braving inclement weather and other odds.
On their way home countless people were held up by long tailbacks on the highways on all the routes for hours.
The crippling traffic jams on the highways, linking the capital with Chittagong, Sylhet, Mymensingh, Tangail and the northern districts caused untold sufferings to the home goers.
The journeys by road were tedious as traffic jams delayed reaching the ferry ghats to cross the rivers on way home.
The growing tailback on the highway leading to Paturia Ghat caused untold sufferings to thousands of men, women and children who left Dhaka for Faridpur, Kushtia, Jessore, Meherpur, Rajbari, Barisal and several south-western districts .
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation deputy general manager at Aricha area office, Shaikh Nasim, said thousands of people were held up in the growing traffic jam on the highway to Paturia Ghat.
Most of the buses which left the capital on way to different destinations in greater Mymensingh, the northern districts, Narsingdi and Sunamganj in the morning could not return even in the evening due to traffic congestions.
Growing tail backs at different points of the highway linking the capital with -Chittagong slowed down the home bound journeys of thousands of people.
Inclement weather, black marketing of travel tickets at high prices also caused sufferings.
The home goers even boarded roof tops of over crowded buses, trains and launches taking the risks of life.
Even after long waits many people felt frustrated getting no train or bus tickets and were seen boarding even trucks to reach homes.
It took Mukta Shahriar 12 hours to reach Jhenaidah by bus, normally a six-hour journey from the capital. She recently did her Masters in management from the Rajshahi University and is looking for jobs.
She said she had to pay Tk 600 for a bus ticket, though its price is Tk 300.
The sudden heavy showers brought much suffering to the home-bound people.
On Wednesday morning the commuters were seen waiting for transports to reach places of work in the capital as the owners withdrew their buses from the streets and pressed them on long distance services.
Rickshaw pullers and auto rickshaw drivers charged extra fares exploiting the situation.
But for Dhumketu Express, which was late by three hours most other trains left the Kamalapur Railway Station on the schedule. But all the over crowded trains carried passengers even on their roofs.
At Sadarghat Launch Terminal crowd of waiting home bound passengers swelled since the morning.
Source: New Age
