The frenzied rush of home-goers reached its peak in the city on Monday, the last working day before Eid-ul-Fitr, as thousands of people moved out of the capital to celebrate the festival with their near and dear ones.
Though there was no report of any tailback on major highways, several trains could not maintain their schedules for the fourth consecutive day today, causing sufferings to the holidaymakers.
Huge crowds were seen at all bus and launch terminals since morning while the transport operators were struggling to cope with the rush of the eid passengers.
Transport operators said the mad rush of homebound passengers will continue till Tuesday night.
The busy capital city has become relatively quiet with thin traffic on roads with the exodus of Eid holidaymakers.
The Kamalapur rail station witnessed a huge rush of the holidaymakers today while many passengers were seen taking risky rides on the rooftops of trains.
At least six out of 22 trains set out behind their schedules until 12pm today.
Officer-in-charge of Kamalapur Government Railway Police Station Yasin Faruque said six intercity trains –- Sundarban Express, Nilsagar Express, Rangpur Express, Lalmoni Special, Chottola Express and Rajshahi Express -– left the station 2-5 hours behind their schedules.
According to Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), over 15 lakh people were expected to leave the capital till midnight since early morning.
Eid-ul-Fitr, the largest religious festival of Muslims, will be celebrated in the country either on Wednesday or Thursday depending on Shawwal moon sighting.
Gabtoli and Saidabad bus terminals were crowded with the home-goers waiting for hours together to catch their transports to reach their destinations.
Passengers said buses are leaving the capital maintaining their schedules while the operators said there was no tailback on highways.
Since there is a heavy rush of home-goers, many local buses are also carrying passengers to different districts.
There was huge rush of home-goers of southern region at Sadarghat Launch Terminal since morning. The passengers sat in cabins, on rooftops and stairs, and wherever they found a bit of space.
Many passengers alleged the launch operators were charging extra fares.
Ashis Kumar Dey, general secretary of the National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads and Railways (NCPSRR), a non-government organisation, said 15-16 lakh people are now leaving the city by three types of route — railway, road and waterway.
Of them, 55 percent of passengers are using roads, 25 percent waterways and 20 percent railways.
Superintendent of Police (SP) of Highway (Gazipur) Md Shafiqul Islam said traffic on all the major highways was normal till the afternoon with vehicles moving smoothly.
