Bangladeshis rush to hometowns for Eid-ul-Fitr celebration

Thousands of Bangladesh citizens have been flocking to the bus, railway and riverboat terminals in this capital city to get tickets for their hometowns to be with their loved ones during the Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the biggest festivals celebrated after Ramadan in Bangladesh, a predominantly Muslim country.

The country will celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr with additional three- day Eid vacation that begins on Aug. 19 if the holy fasting month of Ramadan closes on Aug. 18 based on sighting of the new moon.

The mad rush of home-goers began Sunday when Bangladesh Railway (BR) started sales of advance tickets to facilitate the journey of about 300,000 home-bound people ahead of the festival through its dozen-plus special trains.

Majority of the passengers flocked to Dhaka's main Kamalapur Railway station as many home-goers prefer to avoid a bumpy journey on highways which have been badly damaged during this rainy season.

"I came here early in the morning. I will stand in the queue till the middle of the day when I will be replaced by one of my relatives," said Muhith Alam.

Imram Hossain, another passenger, said that he was very happy that he was able to secure tickets for his family.

Some, however, were not as lucky as Hossain since they have not been able to get their tickets despite staying long hours in the station.

BR will continue ticket sale till Aug. 9. One passenger will be allowed to buy a maximum of four tickets from its counters which opens at 9:00 a.m. local time for about 8 hours a day.

Many passengers were also found waiting for tickets in long queues at the counters of private bus companies which account for a very large part of Eid passenger transport from Dhaka, a mega city of about 15 million people.

An on-the-spot visit to different bus counters revealed that transports fares of buses for various destinations have been increased from their normal ranges.

An official of a private bus company explained that during the Eid festival passengers usually travel from one end only and that is why the fares are charged a bit more to compensate for the loss.

He also said that the demand for tickets is much more than the available seats, which is always the case before the Eid festival hence there is the tendency for the fares to go up.

A spokesman of Bangladesh's Ministry of Communications acknowledged the scarcity of tickets even if the government had arranged for extra buses, trains and riverboats for different routes.

The official who preferred to be unnamed said that because holiday will last for seven days, an estimated 4 to 5 million people will troop to their home provinces whereas in the previous Eid festivals, only about 3 million travel home.

According to the official, public transport modes including trains, buses and river vessels will carry less than half a million home-goers while the rest will manage their journeys by private transport.

Bangladesh's Communications Minister Obaidul Quader, who visited the Kamalapur Railway station Tuesday morning, also conceded the government's limitations, saying, "We can't give tickets to all. It's not possible for us to provide extra coaches overnight."

But he said the government will try its best to accommodate everybody.