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Travails of homebound holidaymakers began as they started leaving Dhaka city in large numbers on Friday ahead of Eid-ul-Azha amid long tailbacks on the highways and train schedule disruptions.  

Huge crowds were seen at Sayedabad and Mohakhali bus terminals, while the entry points in the Dhaka city saw traffic congestions throughout the day due to heavy pressure of buses and trucks laden with cattle and goods.

Eid-ul-Azha is scheduled for June 17, with the three-day holiday starting on June 16, followed by the weekend of Friday and Saturday on June 14–15.

Some bus passengers alleged that they were charged extra for ticket fares amid a shortage of transport and the rush of home-goers.  

People bound for southern districts also rushed to the Sadarghat launch terminal.

A visit to the Kamalapur railway station from about 3:00pm to about 5:00pm found that most trains were running behind schedules by up to one and a half hours. 

The number of passengers at the Kamalapur railway station appeared typical, except for the commuter trains that experienced a notable surge in passengers.

The Jamalpur Commuter left the station 15 minutes behind the schedule at 4:55pm, and Silkcity Express on the Dhaka-Rajshahi route left about one and a half hours behind the schedule. 

Kamalapur station manager Mohammad Masud Sarwar said, ‘Out of the 45 trains that departed until 5:00pm, nearly all left close to their scheduled times. However, the Silkcity Express was about 1.5 hours behind its schedule, which is still considered relatively normal during the Eid journey.’

The Bangladesh Railway under the railways ministry started operating 20 additional trains under its Eid special services from Wednesday which would continue till seven days after Eid.

On Wednesday the passengers, especially the elderly and children, suffered at different rail stations due to delay in their journey amid hot weather.

¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· correspondent in Tangail reported that northbound buses encountered around 20km tailbacks on the Dhaka-Tangail-Bangabandhu highway due to extra pressure of vehicles, including those carrying cattle and goods, with some unfit vehicles breaking down on the road.

The tailbacks, stretching from the east side of the Bangabandhu Bridge to Tangail’s Rabna Bypass, began about 4:00am and were still there when this report was filed at 6:00pm.

The police and transport workers blamed extra pressure of vehicles, several accidents, rain and reckless driving for the tailbacks at various places.  

‘The use of service lanes by (long-route) vehicles also exacerbated the situation,’ said Elenga Highway Police Outpost in-charge Sajedur Rahman.

Abdul Khalek, the driver of a north-bound Shyamoli Paribahan bus, lamented that he could only cover one kilometre in distance in two hours, starting from 10:00am.      

During normal times, approximately 15,000 vehicles travel to 21 districts, including 16 in the north, using the Bangabandhu Bridge with the number significantly escalating during the Eid journey.

Bangabandhu Bridge Site Office executive engineer Ahsanul Kabir Pavel said that around Tk 3.21 crore in toll was collected from 40,906 vehicles crossing the bridge within a 24-hour period starting from Wednesday midnight past Tuesday. 

¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· correspondent in Munshiganj reported that south-bound vehicles faced an 8km gridlock stretching from the Bangabandhu Expressway, an entry route from Dhaka to the southern region, to the Padma Bridge toll plaza since early hours of Friday.

Vehicular movement began returning to normal from 4:00pm, said Mawa Traffic Police inspector Ziaul Haider.

‘The slowdown in the operation of the weighing machines used for trucks on the Padma bridge has caused traffic jams on the highway. As many vehicles gathered in the early morning, the congestion extended up to 8km towards Chanbari, with vehicles moving slowly,’ he said.   

¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· correspondent in Sirajganj reported that long tailbacks formed on the Dhaka-Sirajganj-Rangpur highway Sirajganj early Friday. 

The ongoing Roads and Highways Department works compounded by rains caused a 3km tailback in Gobindaganj and a 2km tailback in Palashbari.

Gobindaganj Highway Police officer-in-charge Mahbubur Rahman said, ‘The road has narrowed down for the ongoing works by the Roads and Highways Department. Rainwater collected in the small pits in the renovation site aggravated the situation. Also drivers in a rush to cross the road quickly created more problems.’ 

In the morning, a large crowd was seen gathered at the Sayedabad bus terminal, where several passengers complained that they were charged up to Tk 400 extra for each bus ticket.