Masses make journey home

Masses of people streamed out of cities across the country on Friday, the first of two-day weekend before the Eid vacation beginning Sunday, on their hectic journey to near and dear ones in fur-flung areas.
Traffic congestion on different highways and at ferry terminals, roof-top journey by train and bus, overloaded launches and extra fares brought immense miseries to the passengers on their way. 
Since Friday morning, Dhaka city dwellers rushed to Gabtoli, Mohakhali and Saidabad terminals, 
Kamalapur station and Sadarghat.

Clockwise from top left: People travel on truck and rooftop of buses on Dhaka-Tangail highway; fellow passengers lift a woman onto a goods-laden truck at Kaliakair, and a launch carries passengers on the rooftop, putting the passengers at risk on River Buriganga as holidaymakers head family homes to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr. The photos were taken on Friday. — Ali Hossain Mintu and Sourav Lasker

Joyashree Majumder Lata, a Chapainawabganj-bound passenger, said it took straight 16 hours for the bus she boarded on to reach her destination on Friday, which at other times took highest seven hours. 
She said the bus started from Kalyanpur at 12:00am and they reached Chandra intersection about 3:00am. 
‘We crossed the Chandra-Jamuna bridge-Sirajganj stretch in seven hours as the vehicles remained stuck in traffic gridlock,’ she said, adding that construction work on Dhaka-Tangail highway caused jam. 
New Age Munshiganj correspondent reported that the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway at Gazaria experienced an eight-kilometre tailback.
Traffic on the highway was obstructed at Daudkandi and Meghna bridge toll plazas almost all day. 
New Age correspondent in Shariyatpur reported that vehicles moved slowly on 35 kilometre area on Shariyatpur-Chandpur highway’s Angaria Bazar to Alurbazar ferry terminal area at Bhedorganj. 
Heavy tailbacks were also noticed at different points on Dhaka-Mymensingh highway.
The road transport and bridges minister, however, at the Saidabad terminal said that there were huge pressure of vehicles on highways and at some places vehicles were moving slowly. 
The vehicles were not stuck in congestion for hours after hours on the country’s highways, he claimed. 
Tahmina Akhter, a Dhaka-Noakhali route passenger, said Himachol Paribahan bus operator charged Tk 650 instead of Tk 350 for a ticket. 
New Age Manikganj correspondent reported that pressure of passengers and vehicles started to increase at Paturia ferry terminal from Friday noon. 
Magura-bound RK Travels’ passenger Mahafujur Rahman said he started from capital’s Gabtoli terminal at 8:00am and his bus reached Paturia terminal at 10:30am and remained stranded there till 2:00pm. 
Overloaded launches were also seen at Paturia-Daulatdia and Aricha-Kazirhat river routes.
New Age correspondent in Munshiganj reported that on Friday morning about 700 vehicles queued up at Shimulia pontoon to cross the River Padma.
New Age correspondent in Madaripur reported that a pontoon at Kathalbari ferry terminal had been closed on Friday as the River Padma’s water level increased. 
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation Kathalbari terminal manager Abdus Salam said at present there were two other pontoons at the terminal. 
Many trains left the Kamalapur station crowded with passengers inside and on their roofs. 
Silk City Express left the station with passengers on its roof when the railways minister Md Mazibul Hoque was visiting the station. 
He also said all trains started from the station on time but Rangpur Express was late by two hours.
The Sadarghat launch terminal saw huge rush of home-bound travellers from Friday morning. The launches were over-loaded with passengers.
BIWTC and launch owners said the rush of people would continue till Saturday.
New Age Chittagong correspondent reported that the port city’s Alankar Inter-district Bus Terminal and Chittagong Railway Station experienced huge rush of people since morning.
Bus operators charged Tk 100 to Tk 500 extra on different routes like Feni, Noakhali, Jessore, Noagaon, Sylhet and Dhaka. 

News Courtesy: www.cnn.com