Bangladesh
Eid Travel Crowds of homebound people seen in Dhaka's bus stands ahead of Eid
Own Correspondent, Dhaka, April 30: People could not leave Dhaka for Eid in the last two years due to Covid-19 restrictions. As the corona situation is under control this year, people have been leaving the capital for the last few days to celebrate Eid with their families and relatives.
Although the Eid travel of Dhaka residents started from Thursday evening, the pressure of passengers started increasing at the Gabtoli bus terminal on Friday (April 29), the first day of the holiday before Eid. This extra pressure of passengers continues even at night.
The bus counters at Shyamoli, Kalyanpur and Gabtali in the capital were crowded with passengers. Those in charge at the counter are struggling to cope.
Meanwhile, long-distance buses from Kalyanpur and Gabtali were seen leaving on time. Those who did not get tickets were seen coming to Gabtali and getting on the local bus going to Paturia in Manikganj. However, the passengers have complained of charging extra fare from the fixed fare at the counters.
Md. Afzal, counter master of Darshana Deluxe Paribahan from Dhaka to Jessore, said that the pressure of passengers has increased since Friday afternoon. Ticket sales are almost over. However, there are some bus seats in the back seat, I hope those will also be sold.
When asked if the vehicles were leaving within the stipulated time, he said there was less traffic jam and the vehicles were arriving on time. Sometimes there is a delay of half an hour to an hour.
Meanwhile, Jessore, Benapole, Magura and Khulna, Satkhira-bound passengers have been accused of charging extra fare. The Consumer Rights Protection Department has fined five counters for alleged overcharging.
Five transport companiess were also fined today in a consumer rights drive for charging extra fares and not having a fixed fare list outside the counter.
In this regard, the Director of the Department of Consumer Protection Manzur Mohammad Shahriar said, "We have come here on the instructions of the Ministry of Commerce. This is basically the work of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), we have come here as an additional, so that passengers do not have to suffer any harassment. After hearing complaints from passengers, we went to different counters."
He further said, "We have fined Selfie Paribahan of Gabtali Tk 1,000, Shyamoli Paribahan Tk 500, Sathi Enterprise Tk 1,000, Orin Travels Tk 1,000 and Shyamnagar Paribahan Tk 500."
