City dwellers, especially the family members of both government and private job holders, started leaving the capital on Thursday morning to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr with their near and dear ones in their respective villages.
Though the official holiday will begin on Tuesday next, many employees and officials of government, semi-government and private offices have chosen to send their families a bit early taking leave for Monday to avoid the mad rush of people just ahead of eid.
Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the biggest religious festivals of the Muslims, will be celebrated in the country either on June 5 or June 6 subject to the sighting of the Shawwal moon.
According to of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), around 50-60 lakh people are expected to leave the city for enjoying eid at their village homes. They will travel by trains, buses and launches until Sunday to reach their destinations.
“Though there’s no statistic or actual figure, we assume around 50-60 lakh holidaymakers are likely to leave the city for their village homes,” DMP Deputy Commissioner (Media) Masudur Rahman told UNB.
He said they have taken various steps to ensure a safe and hassle-free journey of the travelers on the occasion of eid.
Kamalapur Railway Station, three major bus terminals and Sadarghat Ferry Terminal witnesses mad rushes since afternoon with the home-goers waiting for their transports to reach their desired destinations.
Highway police sources said the eid holidaymakers will suffer less on the national highways this time if the weather remains favourable as they will get three holidays before eid. Similarly, they expected hassle-free journeys on rail and river routes.
The sources said the homebound people are likely to face very thin gridlock on Dhaka-Chattogram and Sylhet Highways as the three newly constructed bridges--Kanchpur, Meghna-2 and Gumti 2nd--were opened to traffic.
However, they said the northern region and Khulna-bound passengers may experience tailbacks due to sudden rush of holidaymakers.
