Tens of thousands left Dhaka to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha with their families, with those heading north complaining of a dearth of transport, overcharging by bus operators and long tailbacks.

However, those who were headed to the eastern, northeastern and southern parts of the country had a relatively hassle-free journey as no traffic congestion was reported from major highways linked to those areas.

Bus passengers yesterday said they had to pay Tk 100 to Tk 400 above the fare set by the government.

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For instance, the bus fare from Dhaka to Dinajpur is usually Tk 800. But Sarower Hossain had to pay Tk 1,100 yesterday for a ticket on the Shah Fateh Ali Paribahan from Mohakhali bus terminal.

"When I asked why the price was higher, the bus staffer did not answer," Sarower said.

Similar scenes were seen at Sayedabad and Gabtoli bus terminals.

Mujibar Rahman shelled out Tk 1,000 to buy a ticket of Meghna Travels to go to Betagi of Barguna -- Tk 350 more than normal. "I have no choice but to purchase this ticket as I have to go home for Eid," he said.

When the correspondent asked Mohammad Mintu, a staff of Meghna Travel at Sayedabad Bus Terminal, about overcharging, he said: "The bus will return to Dhaka empty, so we have to factor this in. That's why the extra fare is being charged."

Similarly, Rashed Rahman, a private service provider, had to pay Tk 490 more for his ticket to Bogura on a Rozina Enterprise bus.

When the correspondent asked Kausar Hossain, a staff of the Rozina Enterprise counter at Gabtoli bus terminal, about the higher fare than the previous day, he said: "It's Eid time. So, we have no other option."

Despite paying higher fares, the journey home was not smooth and swift for northbound passengers by road.

In the early hours of yesterday, the Dhaka-Tangail—Rangpur Highway witnessed a 13-kilometre-long tailback due to the increased number of northbound vehicles and suspension of toll collection on the Bangabandhu bridge multiple times since Friday night.

The toll collection had to be stopped several times as several vehicles broke down on the bridge, said Ahsanul Kabir Pavel, executive engineer of the site office of Bangabandhu Bridge.

At 9:00am, there was a seven-km-long tailback on the Dhaka-Tangail—Rangpur Highway, Sajedur Rahman, the in-charge of Elenga Highway Police, told our Tangail correspondent. 

"This is very normal during Eid rush," he added.

However, the traffic situation on the highway improved afterwards, with no tailback observed as of 6:00pm yesterday.

The Dhaka-Nabinagar-Chandra Road that connects with the Dhaka-Tangail-Rangpur Highway at Chandra intersection had gridlock from 4:00pm yesterday after the closure of garments factories in the area, reported our Gazipur correspondent.

The huge number of vehicles caused traffic congestion in Nabinagar, Baipail and Ashulia areas, Ayub Ali, the officer in charge of Savar Highway Police Station, told our Savar Correspondent at 7:00pm.

Many people were seen desperately looking for vehicles as the number of passengers outnumbered the vehicles in the areas.

The traffic congestion on the Dhaka-Tangail-Rangpur Highway held up the buses, said Subhankar Ghosh Rakesh, joint secretary of the Bangladesh Bus Truck Owners Association.

"So, the bus schedule was delayed by two to three hours on the route," he told The Daily Star yesterday.

However, no major traffic congestion was reported from the Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga Expressway, Dhaka-Chattogram and Dhaka-Sylhet Highways, he said.

Those who caught the train, however, had a smoother journey home as almost all trains left the capital on time.

"Eid rush via railway reached its peak today. More people are coming to the station in the evening and it would be a big challenge for us to maintain a schedule at night," Shah Alam Kiron Shishir, divisional commercial officer (Dhaka division) of Bangladesh Railway, told The Daily Star at 6:30pm yesterday.

Over at the Sadarghat launch terminal, a huge crowd was seen in the evening after the garment factories broke for Eid yesterday afternoon.

As of 7:00 pm, 80 launches left the terminal.

Meanwhile, the mobile courts of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority fined six launches a total of Tk 27,000 for various violations, including the absence of railings on stairs, illegal anchoring and overloading of passengers.

Among them, five launches were fined Tk 16,000 for lacking railings on stairs and Tk 1,000 for illegal anchoring at the capital's Sadarghat.

Additionally, one launch was fined Tk 10,000 for passenger overloading at Chandpur's Maju Chowdhury Hat launch terminal.

Eid will be celebrated on Monday in Bangladesh.