Online Desk :  Eid holidaymakers left the capital in droves on Friday to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr with their near and dear ones at their village homes. Many may not have received salary or bonus or both in their job or couldn’t make sure of expected profit targeting Eid business or failed to cope with the ever-rising living cost, but the enthusiasm for going back to roots before the Eid day is similar among most of them. Unlike other years, this time people have been going through a relatively smooth experience while making their Eid trip, thanks to the long Eid vacation and the required measures taken by the government. As a large number of homebound people left the capital earlier, most of the bus terminals and railway stations were less crowded on Friday. Some passengers witnessed pressure of vehicles on a few roads and highways on Friday but correspondents found no long traffic congestion. The Dhaka-Tangail and Dhaka-Chattogram highways witnessed increased traffic pressure on Friday. Meanwhile, vehicles at the Padma Bridge toll plaza were seen waiting longer than usual due to increased traffic pressure.

Homebound people leave capital in droves : No huge pressure of passengers was observed in the capital’s Gabtoli, Mohakhali and Syedabad bus terminals. Vehicles had left the terminals on time in most cases. During a visit to the Gabtoli bus terminal, correspondent noticed many passengers leaving Dhaka, but the crowd was not particularly large. Buses were leaving the capital’s largest bus terminal with a 20 to 30-minute delay due to a lack of passengers, according to bus operators. Several passengers in Gabtoli told this correspondent that some bus operators were overcharging them. The situation was more or less similar in Mohakhali bus terminal. Passengers made the same complaints there as well. Humayun Kabir, a passenger on the Mymensingh route, said that earlier, the fare from Dhaka to Haluaghat was Tk300 but now, on the occasion of Eid, the transport companies are charging Tk450.

Highways had little gridlock : Observing different highways, correspondents have reported that the speed of vehicles was slowed a bit but there was not much gridlock like other years. Since morning, people returning home for Eid were flocking to the Dhaka-Tangail highway. Since there was no shortage of vehicles on the highway, that pressure didn’t turn into a traffic jam. Regarding the complaint of buses charging excessive fares, transport officials said that although there are passengers when they leave Dhaka, the same buses remain empty when they return to the capital. That might be the reason some companies are charging more than the usual fare. Tangail District Superintendent of Police Md Mizanur Rahman said, “Some 750 police officers are deployed at various points on the highway to provide relief to people heading home during the Eid journey. All members of the district police are working hard despite the intense heat.” Commuters have reported congestion at various intersections from Ashulia, Baipail, Nabinagar and Jirani Bazar to Chandra. Although traffic was somewhat slow in areas prone to traffic jams, people were comfortably crossing the Cumilla section of the Dhaka-Chattogram highway on their journey home for Eid this year. Passengers and drivers said when pressure of vehicles increase at markets and toll plazas, it slows the speed of vehicles, but they didn’t see any possibility of traffic jams this time, as long as there were no accidents from Daudkandi in Cumilla to Amjader Bazar in Chauddagram. More than 1,000 police personnel, around 200 Rover Scout members, and army and Ansar members are deployed to ensure smooth Eid journey along the 105-kilometer stretch of the Cumilla section of the country’s busiest highway, said Khairul Alam, Superintendent of Police of the Cumilla Region of the Highway Police.

Kamalapur railway station packed with passengers : While visiting Kamalapur railway station, reporter found an increased number of passengers waiting for the train on the platform. Most of the trains left the capital on time as of Friday evening, according to railway authorities. Kamalapur Railway Station Manager Shahadat Hossain said, “Every train left on time as of this afternoon. Passengers were prevented from travelling on the roof of the train.” A number of passengers, however, were seen climbing on the roofs of North Bengal-bound trains.

Passenger pressure increases slightly at Sadarghat Launch Terminal  : The rush of passengers at the Sadarghat Launch Terminal increased slightly on Friday. Most of the launches left the terminal on time at the fare fixed by the government. According to correspondent, launches were tied to pontoons in a row. Although there was some pressure from passengers on the Chandpur-bound launches, the launches on the Barishal-Jhalakathi-Bhola-Barguna route were relatively less crowded. There was no rush for passengers to buy tickets. Sadarghat Ansar Commander Mohammad Monir Hossain said that four armed Ansars have been deployed on each of 149 launches at the terminal. They will work to prevent any kind of harassment of passengers inside the launches and ensure the safety of passengers.