Hundreds of people hit the road on Tuesday for home as a four-day public holiday starts today, with the nation poised for the 13th national elections and the referendum.
Educational institutions across the country also will be closed for five days from today due to the elections and other holidays.
Amid mounting pressure on roads, trains, launches, speedboats and ferries on Tuesday in different districts, including Gazipur, Tangail, Munshiganj and Manikganj, many passengers alleged that they had to pay extra to get transport, while many others suffered amid a shortage of transport.
On the day, around 30-kilometre tailbacks were seen on Dhaka-Tangail and Dhaka-Mymensingh national highways, while agitated passengers blocked Chandona and Rajendrapur crossings and the road in Maona area under Gazipur for some time, protesting at transport crisis and extra fares.
Earlier, the government first declared Election Day on February 12 a public holiday, while later on January 22, they added February 11 also as a public holiday for the occasion.
As the weekend of Friday and Saturday fall on February 13 and 14, it becomes a four-day holiday, causing a massive number of people with families to rush for home from Tuesday.
The government on January 22 also announced that the workers in the industrial areas across the country would get an additional holiday on February 10.
As a result, the industrial workers got a three-day holiday between February 10 and February 12 before their weekend of Friday.
Educational institutions will get an additional holiday on February 15, falling on Sunday, due to Sree Sree Shibratri Brata, a Hindu religious occasion, allowing them to go to holiday from today till Sunday.
The madrassahs will get a longer holiday, as according to the Technical and Madrassah Education Division under the education ministry, the three Alia madarassahs and non-government (ibtedayi, dakhil, alim, fazil and kamil) will get a 30-day holiday starting from February 15 to end on March 26, marking the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and other holidays.
New Age correspondent in Gazipur reported that hundreds of people left the district by road and trains since Monday evening after the holiday for the industrial workers began from Tuesday.
Suffering passengers, hit by a serious transport crisis, alleged that the bus staff charged them from Tk 1200 to Tk 1500 for each passenger for travelling to the northern districts, the regular fare for which was Tk 500.
At one point agitated passengers blocked Chandona and Rajendrapur crossings and road in Maona area for some time.
Firoza Akhter, a passenger on Mymensingh route, said that she got on bus from the Bypass area at 5:00am Tuesday and crossed the path of an hour in straight three hours.
‘Instead of regular fare of Tk 100, the bus employees are asking Tk 300 to Tk 500,’ she alleged.
At Joydebpur rail station a massive number of passengers got on trains to different routes especially on Dhaka-Mymensingh and Dhaka-Rajshahi routes.
Many were seen travelling on the roofs of the trains also.
Gazipur region’s Naojor highway station’s officer-in-charge Md Saogatul Alam said that as many workers left due to the long holiday, roads were experiencing tailbacks.
Clockwise from left, homegoers wait at Gazipur Chowrasta for vehicles amid thin traffic, people crowd the Aricha-Paturia Ghat, passengers throng the Mohakhali Bus Terminal, people swarm out of the Sadarghat Launch Terminal, as they leave Dhaka for 4-day holiday, on Tuesday. — New Age photo
New Age correspondent in Manikganj reported that huge pressure of people was seen at Aricha and Paturia launch and ferry ghats.
Since Tuesday morning many workers from Savar and Ashulia areas gathered at these ghats to go home to cast votes on Thursday.
The ghat authorities were seen struggling to manage the crowd.
Nazrul Islam, a resident of Bera in Pabna, said that he was going home via Aricha ghat to cast vote.
‘There is huge congestion but I don’t mind it as I will be able to cast vote on Thursday,’ he added.
Another passenger Alamgir said that he came from Dhaka by a Selfie paribahan bus heading for Pabna.
They were charged Tk 500 as fare instead of Tk 200.
Shibalay police officer-in-charge Md Monir Hossain said that they got verbal allegations on additional fares on transports but no written complaints.
New Age correspondent in Munshiganj reported that after Tuesday noon the number of vehicles particularly motorcycles coming from Dhaka to 21 southern districts increased on the Dhaka-Mawa Expressway.
Passengers alleged being charged extra by the bus staff in Nimtola, Hashara, Sholghar and Sreenagar Shaoni areas.
