Eid rush eases at Gabtoli Bus Terminal after two days of chaos

After two consecutive days of severe passenger pressure and traffic congestion, the situation at Gabtoli Bus Terminal began to ease this afternoon, bringing some relief to Eid holidaymakers.

Passenger flow, which had surged during the last two days, gradually returned to normal after midday today.

Transport workers and officials attributed the improvement to both the declining number of outbound travellers and increased coordination in traffic management, particularly due to the military's involvement in decongesting surrounding areas.

However, the last two days saw rampant irregularities in fare collection. With fewer buses than required, many transport operators reportedly charged passengers excessive fares – often nearly double the official rates.

Talking to this correspondent at Gabtoli Terminal this afternoon, Yunus Ali, a passenger from Ashkona, said he was quoted Tk 600 for a ticket to Rajbari, even though the official fare is Tk 390.

When asked about this discrepancy, Abdul Aziz, a counterman at Rabeya Paribahan, said, "Although the fare to Rajbari is Tk 390, we are charging Tk 600 as our buses are running up to Kushtia."

Aminul Islam, a counter official of Shyamoli NR Travels, acknowledged that the passenger pressure was overwhelming in the past two days.

"We had to turn away many passengers due to a shortage of buses. But from this afternoon, the crowd has thinned and the situation is returning to normal," he said.

Rajib Hossain, manager of Surjomukhi Paribahan, said they faced severe delays yesterday and this morning.

"We couldn't dispatch a single bus on time. Vehicles remained stuck in traffic for hours, and passengers had to wait endlessly," he said.

Thanks to enhanced traffic control measures, particularly by the army, buses were able to maintain schedules by late afternoon, offering some much-needed relief to both travellers and transport operators at Gabtoli, the manager added.