Sanaullah Miah was concerned about getting an advance ticket ahead of Eid.

After waiting for around four hours at a counter in Gabtoli Bus Terminal in the capital on August 23, he had managed to get a ticket to Bogra. But he had to pay Tk 470 even though the normal price is Tk 350.

“This is the beginning of my sufferings. We will have to endure much more to reach our home during the Eid rush,” Sanaullah told The Daily Star at the bus counter.

The Eid-ul-Azha is expected to be celebrated in the country on September 12.

Thousands of holidaymakers experience similar sufferings when they go to collect tickets or travel home ahead of Eid every year.

Ticket crises, overcharging by transport operators, traffic gridlock on the highways, operation of unfit vehicles and mismanagement in ferry services have become one of the most common phenomena during the Eid rush.

According to transport operators, around 35 lakh people leave the capital by road to celebrate Eid with their near and dear ones. The huge number of home-going people causes a huge crisis of tickets.

“Most of the people want to travel in last three or four days ahead of Eid. It is not possible to arrange tickets for all at their convenient time,” said Samad Mandal, manager of Hanif Paribahan.

Cashing in on the huge demand, almost all the transport operators charge additional fares, passengers allege.

Those who travel in AC buses suffer more as the operators charge much higher than the fares of normal buses. They can charge as per their will as the government has yet to fix a fare for the AC buses.

Talking to The Daily Star, Masud Hasan, a private jobholder, said he had bought a ticket of an AC bus from Dhaka to Satkhira at Tk 1,800. He added ticket for the same bus on the same route normally costs Tk 1,100.

As Eid holidays are the golden time for transport business, many unscrupulous owners operate their unfit, old and shabby vehicles including bus, microbus and human-haulers to make extra profit.

Bangladesh Passengers Welfare Association in a statement in June this year claimed that around 29 percent of vehicles, which ply during Eid holidays on different inter-district routes, are unfit and rundown.

Travellers also face hassles to cross the Padma river during Eid rush thanks largely to mismanagement in ferry services at both Mawa terminal in Munshiganj and Paturia terminal in Manikganj.

Contacted, Road Transport and Highways Division Secretary MAN Siddique said, “We have already asked all the departments and bodies concerned to take necessary measures to ensure hassle-free and safe journey for passengers during the upcoming Eid holidays.”

Stern action will be taken if anyone causes sufferings to people or violates the safety measures, he added.