Continuous hassle for Eid travellers

Going home during the Eid holiday has continued to be a painful experience over the years and this year is no exception. Newspapers and TV channels have been flooded with reports of long tailbacks on the highways, overcrowded buses, trains and launches, despite some additional efforts by the authorities. Many transport owners or operators charged extra for tickets although the authorities have talked about deploying vigilant teams to check the malpractice. Transport operators, on the other hand, allege that rent-seeking by powerful groups compel them to engage in this unscrupulous practice. 

The result is an unmitigated catastrophe for the home goers. Travel time has doubled or tripled in various routes. There were reports of snarl up on Dhaka-Chittagong and Dhaka-Mymensingh highways which were expanded to four lanes recently. The supply is failing miserably to keep up with the demand. For instance, the authorities added a few more trains but many passengers had to travel on the roof risking their lives. Battered buses, most of them unfit for the road, were given a facelift.  

No one blames the authorities alone for the mess. The rush during the Eid holidays is extraordinary. But it's not unpredictable. Measures should be taken well ahead of time to ease the discomfort of passengers. It's going to require involvement of transport companies, law enforcement agencies, department of roads and highways and the public to reach a solution to ensure safe and hassle-free travel. There is no single, grand solution to the problem. And it can be solved only by thinking out of the box and through innovative measures.