With the rush of Eid holidaymakers getting momentum, bus and launch operators like previous years are overcharging passengers.

People, who are desperate to go to their village homes, are compelled to pay extra as the authorities concerned turn a blind eye to the home-goers' plight.

However, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, while visiting the capital's Mohakhali Bus Terminal yesterday, claimed that bus operators were charging passengers correct fares.

This correspondent talked to over a dozen people, who travelled to different destinations from Dhaka in the last couple of days. All of them alleged that they had been charged additional fare.

This year, the Eid-ul-Fitr will be either on July 6 or the following day.

Mohammad Asaduzzaman, who works in a private organisation, was going to Jhenidah on a JR Paribahan bus from Dhaka on Sunday. The price of his ticket was Tk 550. As per the government-fixed rate, the ticket price should be Tk 456.

Heera, who studies at a public university, said she had bought a ticket for Tk 665 yesterday to go to Satkhira from Dhaka. Its normal fare is Tk 625.

Saidur Rahman has bought an AC ticket for Dhaka-Chittagong route of a Greenline Paribahan. He paid Tk 2,200 for the ticket, whose usual price is Tk 1,250.

The government has not yet fixed any fare chart for AC buses. It needs Tk 448 to buy a ticket for non-AC buses running on Dhaka-Chittagong route.    

However, Khandaker Enayet Ullah, secretary general of Bangladesh Road Transport Owners' Association, denied the allegation of overcharging and claimed bus operators were charging as per the government-fixed fare chart.

People travelling by launches alleged that they had to pay extra to buy launch tickets.

“I have bought a ticket for double cabin for Tk 2,300. Usually, it needs Tk 1,800,” said Raju Hamid, who was on his way to Barisal from Dhaka.

Talking to The Daily Star, college student Ibrahim Hossain said as there was a shortage of cabin ticket, the launch owners were charging passengers as per their wish.

Mad Rush

As Eid holidays for most of the non-government employees began yesterday, there was a huge pressure of home-goers in the capital's railway stations and bus and launch terminals throughout the day.

Many left their office early to catch their transports, whose tickets they bought earlier.

“My bus is scheduled to leave Mohakhali terminal on 3:00pm. So, I have to leave my office around 12:00 noon to catch the bus,” said Anwar Hossain, who works for a private organisation.

A long tailback near Nabinagar intersection yesterday afternoon made buses late to reach their terminals on time. For this reason, passengers had to wait at different bus terminals for several hours to get buses.

At Kamalapur Railway Station, 36 trains left the city as of yesterday evening. Of them, three trains were delayed for around one to two hours. The rest left the station on time, said railway officials.

Most of the launches, that left Sadarghat Launch Terminal, were seen plying jam-packed with passengers. Defying the government ban, many were travelling on rooftops of the launches. 

Around 60-70 lakh people will make their journeys by roads, rail and rivers to reach their destinations, according to transport operators.