“It takes 10 hours to travel from Dhaka to Thakurgaon even in normal times. This time we made it in record time. I haven’t travelled so smoothly in the past 10 years,” Munia offered, gleefully.
The journey home during Eid has always been a nightmare; there is trouble with getting tickets, waiting long hours for buses and then being stuck in traffic jams on rundown highways. Restrictions over the coronavirus pandemic added to the sufferings in the past two years.
Although there is no restriction this time with coronavirus cases declining sharply, many feared a sudden rush of holidaymakers would face the same troubles again as the major highways are undergoing roadwork.
The authorities suspended the work and opened under-construction flyovers and roads to traffic. Additional policemen have also been deployed to ease traffic congestion and prevent troubles of passengers at ticket counters.
Finally, most of the people who left Dhaka for their hometowns or villages have faced no hassle in buying tickets at the counters or traffic jams on the highways.
With schools and colleges closed, many left the city early. Learning a lesson from past troubles, many opted for a motorcycle ride. These factors, coupled with measures taken by the authorities, have made the Eid trips largely trouble-free this year.
But that is not the case for everyone.
It was the same old story for factory workers of industrial areas Savar and Gazipur: hours of wait for a transport in oppressive heat, extra fare and a perilous journey.
Zakir Hossain, a worker of a garment factory in Gazipur’s Konabari, came to Chandra with his wife and daughter to travel to their home district Dinajpur at 5am.
They had not boarded a bus until 9:30am.
Some bus operators stopped to take them, but sought Tk 1,000 per passenger.
Finally, the three members of the family got on a pick-up truck to travel to Bogura first at Tk 500 per passenger.
For a trip to Mymensingh from Gazipur, the bus operators were asking for more than Tk 300, twice as much the usual fare, alleged factory worker Kamrul Islam.
Thousands of people like Zakir and Kamrul were waiting for a transport at Chandra at 9pm.
Feroz Hossain, chief of Konabari Highway Police Station, said the sudden onrush of travellers began after the factories closed in the afternoon.
As the buses and other vehicles stopped taking passengers, a long tailback was created in the Savar-Gazipur region.
Abdullah Al Mamun, a deputy commissioner of Gazipur City Corporation, said many workers took truck and pick-up rides to get home.
“Although these vehicles are banned on highways this Eid, we could not prevent them due to a lack of buses. Moreover, stopping these vehicles would create more congestion.”
Farida Parvin, a worker of a garment factory at Dhaka Export Processing Zone in Savar, said extra fare means it is uncertain whether she will finally be able to go home before Eid.
“Many helpless people are risking their lives to return home by trucks and pick-ups.”
Police were working to ease congestions, but no visible steps were there to stop bus operators from overcharging travellers.
Atiqur Rahman, an inspector at Savar Highway Police Station, said the authorities were “taking action” if any passenger alleged being overcharged.
