People heading home for Eid holidays climb up to the already packed roof of a train at Airport Railway Station in the capital yesterday. People embarking on such risky travels is almost a norm ahead of Eid. Photo: Palash Khan

Excited five-year-old girl Naima was waiting at a bus stop but she could hardly wait for a boat ride, which her grandfather promised to make it happen during her Eid holidays at their village home in Bogra.

"Dadu [grandfather] has told me over the phone that a boat is waiting for me. Dadu and I will get on it tomorrow [Friday] and be on it all day long," an enthusiastic Naima said.

She along with her parents was sitting in the waiting room of SR Travels at the capital's Kalyanpur for a bus to Bogra.

Their faces could not hide the happiness and joy of getting to spend the Eid holidays with their near and dear ones.

Like them, thousands were leaving the capital and heading towards their homes yesterday to celebrate Eid, which could be tomorrow, if the moon is sighted this evening, or on Sunday, if it was not.

An estimated 70 lakh people leave the capital, most of them in the four days before Eid.

Every day about 5 lakh were travelling on inter-district buses, 3 lakh on launches, nearly 1 lakh on trains and around 2 lakh on other mode of transport like local buses, cars and trucks, said transport operators.

At the bus terminals, the Kamalapur Railway Station and Sadarghat Launch Terminal yesterday, thousands were seen desperately trying to leave the city.

Many had tickets while some were rushing from a ticket counter to another to get tickets.

"I have bought my tickets around a week ago. My bus is scheduled to leave at 3:30pm," said Kamrul Islam Payel, who was waiting at Shyamoli Paribahan bus stop at Kalyanpur.

Monsur Ahmed Rony, on the other hand, was looking for a ticket at Gabtoli Bus Terminal.

No gridlock was reported on any of the highways. But vehicular movement was slow due to the heavy flow of traffic, said transport operators.

Buses leaving the capital were packed with passengers. Most of them were seen carrying people on roofs. Even trucks leaving the city yesterday were carrying people.

Transport operators say the mad rush would continue until the night before Eid.

"There is a huge pressure of passengers today [Thursday] and we expect the pressure to continue in the next two days," commented Mosharraf, general manager of Hanif Paribahan, probably the largest bus operator in Bangladesh.

He said around 900 buses of Hanif Paribahan were running daily between Dhaka and other districts.

At Kamalapur Railway Station, all trains were full. Many people were seen standing inside the train while some were on the roofs.

"I did not buy the ticket earlier. So, I did not get any seat. That is why, I have decided to travel standing inside the train," said Rahmat Ullah, who was leaving for Mymensingh.

Dhaka Divisional Railway Manager Arifuzzaman told The Daily Star that three trains suffered delays but the other ones were on schedule.

The Nilsagar Express, heading for Nilphamari from Dhaka, was delayed for around an hour and a half, the Sundarbans Express, going to Khulna, was delayed for around an hour and 15 minutes and Rangpur Express was delayed for an hour as well, he said.

A total of 64 trains were running between Dhaka and other districts. Five special trains were also included in the service to deal with the Eid rush.

Like every year, thousands heading for the southern districts thronged the Sadarghat Launch Terminal.

"Launches heading for Barisal usually leave in the evening. But the vessels become full by that time. That is why I have come several hours before to secure my space," said Raju Hamid, who was at the terminal around noon yesterday.

Meanwhile, officials of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) yesterday stopped the launch MV Parabat-5 on the Dhaleshwari for overloading and having a leak.     

The National Moon Sighting Committee is going to sit today at the Islamic Foundation's Baitul Mukarram office at 7:30pm to review information on the sighting of the Shawwal moon, to decide on what day the Eid will be.