Special launches, buses for Eid passengers

Special launches will operate on Dhaka-Barisal-Dhaka route to facilitate movement of passengers during Eid holidays.
Private launch owners have arranged special service for 10 days from November 14 while the BIWTA will operate special launches from November 12 for 14 days.
Saidur Rahman Rintu, vice president of Barisal launch owners association, said they will operate extra trips by placing 12 triple-deck vessels daily on each ends of Dhaka and Barisal for Eid passengers from November 14 to 24.
Kazi Wakil Newaz, deputy director of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) said they would operate Eid special launch services for 14 days on 22 routes from November 12 to 24 from Dhaka, Narayanganj and Chandpur.
These special launches of BIWTA will ply on different routes of Barisal, Bhola, Patuakhali, Madaripur, Manikganj, Munshiganj and Shariatpur districts.
Meanwhile, the BRTC authorities have arranged Eid special trips on 18 routes.
On Barisal-Kewrakandi-Barisal route 14-day special service has been introduced yesterday with eight buses, said Abdur Rahim, Barisal BRTC depot manager.
Besides over one hundred buses will leave Barisal every day for 10 days carrying more than 6 thousand passengers from two inter-district bus terminals from November 11, said Shah Alam Khan, president of district bus owners association.
However, a large number of people hoping to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha with their near and dear ones at their village home will have to suffer a lot due to imposition of extra bus and launch fares by unscrupulous operators and sell-out of advance tickets of launch cabins and bus seats.
Sources in water and road transport offices said advance tickets for journey on most routes for five days before Eid and five days after the Eid day have already been sold out.
Few tickets of launch cabins and bus seats only for some special trips are available from the counters while tickets for regular trips are now available on the black market, the sources added.
For journey by private water and road transports during Eid days, passengers have to pay 40 to 60 percent extra fare, they said.
One-way bus fare on the Barisal-Dhaka route has also been increased from Tk 320 to Tk 450 against the official BRTC fare of Tk.280.