No respite for post-Eid returnees

Even after a two-hour wait at Vatiapara Bus Station near Kashiani upazila of Gopalganj district, college student Shakil Mahmud failed to find a vacant bus seat on Dhaka-Khulna Highway to reach Dhaka yesterday morning.
Finding no other alternative, Shakil climbed on the roof of a bus for the journey. There was no concession. He had to pay the full Tk 100 for the risky ride.
Shakil is one of the thousands of people returning on bus roofs after the Eid holidays though such form of travel is strictly against the law.
Law enforcers including highway police turned a blind eye and, in some cases, failed to maintain traffic flow at both sides of Mawa ferry ghat in Munshiganj, claimed passengers and locals.
Several passengers alleged that bus owners are taking advantage of the rush of passengers to charge excess fares. Despite complaints made with police, the scenario did not change.
A passenger of the route said, “I usually pay Tk 60 for a trip from Mawa to Gulistan but now passengers are being forced to pay Tk 80 to 100.”
Another passenger, Jahidul Islam, said he paid Tk 80 to travel on the roof of Ilish Paribahan, a bus company plying on the route.
On many occasions, passengers alleged that they had to pay double the regular fare.
“The number of buses is not adequate for the thousands of passengers waiting to catch a ride,” said Shakil.
The situation was no better at Mawa-Paturia and Aricha-Daulatdia ferry ghats, used by the people of southern and western districts of the country to reach the capital.
Hundreds of people were seen queuing in long lines to purchase tickets of launches, speed boats and other vessels.
“I continue to wait for over two hours to buy a ticket for a speed boat ride as there is no certainty of when I would get my hands on one,” said one passenger at Mawa-Paturia ferry ghat.
Here too they were charging higher fares than usual, he alleged.
Muhammad Shahin, a resident of Uttara, said, “I have been waiting for an hour in a half-a-kilometer long queue for a trawler ride but the boat is nowhere in sight.”
Moreover, thousands of passengers inside buses, trucks and other vehicles remain stuck on Dhaka-Aricha highway for hours either due to traffic congestion or unavailability of ferries at Paturia, said locals.
Suffering of the passengers including women and children is the same at Aricha-Daulatdia ferry ghat on the other side.
On contact, Munshiganj Superintendent of Police Shafiqur Rahman said they received no such allegations of excess fares being charged.
On people travelling on bus roofs, he said, “I am going to look into the matter.”