Sufferings all along the way home

Ignoring the health safety guidelines and enduring myriad hardships, thousands of people left Dhaka yesterday to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha with their near and dear one at their ancestral homes.

There was a sharp rise in the number of home-goers from the afternoon as many rushed to bus and launch terminals and train stations immediately after completing their last day of work before the Eid holidays.

People heading towards the northern districts suffered immensely due to traffic congestion on the Dhaka-Mymensingh and Dhaka-Tangail-Rangpur highways. People heading for south-western districts faced hardships at ferry terminals on the Padma river.

Allegations of overcharging and violation of health safety guidelines, including carrying passengers at 50 percent capacity, were rampant against bus and launch operators. Many passengers were found without face masks. The rains added to their hardship.

The home rush intensified on a day when the country recorded the highest single-day death toll from Covid-19 -- 231 -- yesterday.

The government relaxed the strict lockdown for eight days from Thursday for Eid, which will be celebrated tomorrow. It took the decision despite many experts warning that lifting restrictions may lead to further spikes in infections and deaths.

The country will be put under "lockdown" again from July 23 to August 5, as per the government's earlier announcement.

CROWDS AT TERMINALS, JAMS ON ROADS

People in the thousands thronged different intercity bus terminals from the morning, but the number saw a sharp rise in the afternoon.

Lutfar Rahman, a private service holder, came to Mohakhali bus terminal around 2:00pm to go to his Sirajganj home after attending his office at Narayanganj's Kanchpur.

"But I failed to get a ticket after going to four counters. I don't know how I will go home," Lutfar told this correspondent around 2:30pm.

More than 300 people were seen in line for tickets of Ena Paribahan buses to Mymensingh.

"I have been waiting to buy a ticket for more than an hour and a half, but still there are more than 100 ticket-seekers ahead of me," Ripon Islam, an honours student, said.

It only seemed to get harder for those who managed to leave the capital as they were met with severe traffic congestion on the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway.

Golam Khan Pappu, a private-service holder, made a post on Facebook group "Traffic Alert" about the congestion.

When this correspondent contacted him over phone, he said, "Our bus left Mohakhali Station around 6:00am today and it took around five hours to reach Gazipur Chowrasta area."

"We were stuck in a jam for one-and-a-half hours at Square Masterbari area and finally reached Mymenshigh around 2:00pm. A journey that usually takes three or there and half hours ended up taking eight hours," he said.

Like the last few days, the Dhaka-Tangail-Rangpur highway also witnessed traffic congestion yesterday, reports our Tangail Correspondent.

The pressure from vehicles leaving Dhaka caused a 13-kilometre tailback from Alenga to Bangabandu Bridge east end in the morning. Traffic movement towards Dhaka, meanwhile, was almost normal.

The tailback eased in the afternoon but traffic started to slow down again in the area from the evening as vehicular pressure mounted.

Visiting Gabtoli Bus Terminal around 3:30pm, another correspondent found a huge rush of people there. Except some major operators, most of the bus operators were found carrying passengers at full capacity, violating government directives.

Many passengers bought tickets at inflated prices -- when countermen of many bus companies said they had no empty seats, conductors and helpers were seen selling tickets outside the counters, charging extra.

Even state-run BRTC buses were seen taking extra passengers and charging extra.

Md Shohel, a private service holder, bought a ticket to Rajshahi for Tk 1,200 in a BRTC "reserve" bus. "I was not getting any tickets and so when I found one [of the BRTC bus], I did not bother about the amount."

This correspondent found the BRTC double-decker bus operating at full passengers capacity.

Asked about it, its helper said, "We had to pay extra to bring the bus here and manage its route, so I have to take the extra money."

Contacted, BRTC spokesman Amjad Hossain said there is no scope to charge extra and take extra passengers.

"We will take action if specific allegation is found," he told The Daily Star last night.

Many passengers were seen waiting for buses as those were running three to four hours behind schedule due to congestion on the highways.

Meanwhile, ferry terminals on the Shimulia-Banglabazar and Paturia-Daulatdia routes saw huge pressure of vehicles and passengers had to wait several hours to cross the river.

Launches on the Shimulia-Banglabazar routes were found overcrowded and law enforcers were struggling to control the mad rush, reports our Munshiganj correspondent.

On the other hand, ferries were taking more time to cross the river due to strong currents. Several hundred vehicles were seen waiting for the ferry.

Ferries on the Paturia-Daulatdia route also faced huge pressure, especially since the afternoon. Around 500 to 600 vehicles were waiting to cross the river around 4:00pm, reports our Manikganj correspondent.

Meanwhile, Sadarghat Launch Terminal witnessed huge pressure of launch passengers from the morning and the number rose in the evening. Most of the launches were found overcrowded while health safety guidelines were being ignored.

Shahidul Alam, acting officer-in-charge of Sadarghat River Police, said police and mobile courts were trying their best to make passengers follow health safety guidelines.

Zainal Abedin, joint director of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), said a total 75 launches left the terminal till 7:00pm. Around 50 more launches are likely to leave, he said.

A total of 102 launches left Dhaka on Sunday.

Besides, many people left Dhaka through Kamalapur and other railway stations in the city. A total of 34 inter-city and local trains were being operated from Dhaka to different districts.