Time Digital Report: With the public holiday beginning today, thousands of people have already started leaving the capital yesterday for their village homes to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr.
Bus terminals, railway stations and launch terminals started seeing hordes of homebound people in the afternoon as many service-holders left work early on the last working day before the five-day Eid holidays.
The rush, however, is expected to intensify today and is expected to reach its peak two days from Friday.
Eid is likely to be celebrated on April 22 or 23. Holidays will be extended by a day if there are 30 days of Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr is celebrated on April 23, making it a six-day break.
About 1.2 crore people will leave Dhaka ahead of Eid, according to an estimate by Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity.
Thousands of people left Dhaka yesterday through Kamalapur Railway Station, the largest railway in the country.
The station saw relatively less crowd this year as railway authorities allowed only the passengers with tickets at the platform and erected a strong bamboo fence to prevent illegal entry.
Until 7:30pm, a total of 38 including 28 intercity trains left Dhaka for different destinations. A total of 53 trains were supposed to leave Dhaka yesterday.
Chattogram-bound Mohanagar Pravati Express and Sonar Bangla Express left Dhaka an hour behind schedule, said a Bangladesh Railway official.
On the other hand, Chilahati-bound Nilsagar Express and Rajshahi-bound Dhumketu Express were delayed by 50 minutes and 40 minutes respectively, he said.
Similarly, bus terminals witnessed big crowds in the evening.
A huge number of passengers started gathering at Gabtoli Terminal in the afternoon, said Mosharref Hossain, general manager of Hanif Paribahan. The number was increasing when the correspondent spoke with him around 7:30pm.
Meanwhile, Sadarghat Launch Terminal also saw a good number of passengers in the evening, said Alamgir Kabir, joint director of Bangladesh Water Transport Authority.
Until 7:00pm, a total of 55 launches left Dhaka with passengers, he said, adding that the number of passengers will increase from today and will reach a peak when the garment factories break off for the Eid holidays.
Traffic pressure has increased on the Dhaka-Tangail highway. However, no traffic congestion was reported on the highway, reports our Tangail Correspondent.
According to the Bangabandhu Bridge Authority, a total of 22,485 small and big vehicles crossed the bridge in the 24 hours to 6:00 am yesterday, fetching Tk 2.9 crore.
Special arrangements have been made for the smooth passage of vehicles through the bridge on Eid, said Ahsanul Kabir Pavel, executive engineer of Bangladesh Bridge Authority.
Furthermore, two additional toll booths have been added for motorcycles, he added.
The government is determined to ensure the smooth return of people to their villages during Eid, said Jasim Uddin Haider, deputy commissioner in Tangail, adding that various measures have been taken to this end.
From April 16, ten mobile teams are working under the leadership of executive magistrates. Three control rooms have been set up on the highway.
