Ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, a number of private bus operators have been charging extra fares from their passengers at Gabtoli terminal.

When this correspondent visited capital's Gabtoli bus terminal today, commuters complained that the bus operators were charging Tk 100 to Tk 500 more than the usual rate.

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Rashed Rahman, who bought a ticket from Rozina Enterprise at Gabtoli, said, "Normally, it costs Tk 942 to go to Bogura from Dhaka, but now they are charging Tk 1440."

Kausar Hossain, a Rozina Enterprise employee, told The Daily Star, "It's Eid time. So, we have no other option."

Another traveller, Sumon Islam, experienced a similar situation. A Pabna Express ticket usually costs Tk 630, but he paid Tk 750 for it.

"It has become a common trend for bus operators to charge extra ahead of Eid," he added.

Frustrated, Meherpur-bound Gias Uddin said, "The government has fixed the fare from Dhaka to Meherpur at Tk 650, but Royal Express is charging Tk 750. Every Eid, they demand higher prices."

He had no choice but to pay the high price for the ticket.

When Jafor Uddin bought a ticket to Jashore, he encountered a similar problem.

"The government-set fare from Dhaka to Jashore is Tk 628, but I had to pay Tk 850 to Eagle Paribahan. This is not fair."

Since many bus counters were closed by 12:30pm today, many passengers found it difficult to purchase tickets.

A private company employee named Saifuzzaman stated, "I went to the Gabtoli bus terminal to purchase a ticket for Rajshahi. After visiting seven counters, they said they don't have any tickets."

This correspondent visited Gabtoli bus terminal and noticed a decrease in the number of passengers compared to previous Eid periods, along with many counters being closed.