With a virtual six-day vacation for the Eid-ul-Fitre beginning today, thousands of city dwellers already left for their village homes to celebrate the greatest religious festival of the Muslims with their near and* dear ones.

The homebound people started leaving the capital by bus, launch and train a few days ago but the process is now gaining momentum as a public holiday today is followed by weekend tomorrow and a four-day Eid vacation from Saturday.

Every year, around four million people leave the capital on the eve of the eid braving lot of sufferings in their journey home.

Many of the homebound passengers of different modes of transport said that as in the previous years, they would forget the troubles on their way once they reach home.

The rush of homebound passengers will now continue to increase to reach its climax a couple of days ahead of the Eid.

Taking advantage of the situation, buses, trains and launches are charging much higher fare from passengers. They are also carrying passengers beyond their capacity, making the journey risky. Usually the government takes steps on the eve of eid to check overloading.

Today is the holiday for Lailatul Qadr, tomorrow is weekly holiday and the four-day Eid holiday will start day after tomorrow.

However, city shopping centres are expected to witness brisk business at the fag end of Ramadan as people are in the last-minute buying spree.

SADARGHAT

Passengers were seen yesterday reaching Sadarghat launch terminal in heavy traffic congestion between Gulistan and the terminal. A five-minute journey at other times now takes more than an hour.

However, deployment of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) alongside paramilitary BDR and police has improved discipline and order in the terminal area.

The law enforcing agencies removed all makeshift shops at the terminal yesterday to ease movement of passengers. Many passengers expressed satisfaction at this. But they are not getting any cabins to book even offering higher fare, they said.

"We are ready to pay additional fare but launch operators say all cabins have been booked ," said Karim, a Bhola bound passenger.

As in the past few days, most of the launches anchored in the midriver. Passengers reached the vessels by overloaded boats, risking accident. And many launches were seen overloaded with passengers.

KAMAIAPUR

Brokers at Kamlapur Railway Station yesterday sold tickets charging double the normal fare even amid tight security.

Railway staff af ticket counters said all advance tickets up to the eid have been sold.

Hundreds of passengers were desperately looking for tickets yesterday only to get disappointed. They had no option but to look for brokers to collect tickets paying extra fare.

Although passengers were not getting tickets at the station counter, brokers were selling those at higher prices, many passengers alleged.

Showing a ticket collected from a broker, Mintu Ahmed said, " It is nothing new to me, every year tickets are available with brokers when all advance tickets are sold out from counters."

When these correspondents posing as passengers approached some porters at the station for managing nine advance tickets of Sylhet bound Upaban on Friday, one of them said, "I can manage these tickets from the station office within 20 minutes. But you have to pay Tk 300 instead of Tk 180 for each chair coach ticket"

Another porter, Sayed, said he could manage tickets of Chittagong bound trains from station office on payment of higher fare.

"It is true that we are charging extra fare but we help many passengers get tickets," he added.

No law enforcers were not found there at the time.

Station Manager Solaiman Shikdcr however denied any malpractices saying, "We have not received any complaints of irregularities as yet"

Some members of a police patrol also denied that brokers were selling tickets at the station.

Meanwhile, police yesterday arrested a commission agent of the station— Mozammel Haq-- on chargeofirregularities.

MOHAKHALI

The sitution at Mohakhali bus terminal was somewhat better yesterday mainly because of the presence of Rab. Harassment of passengers was not seen but some bus opera- ‘ tors were charging extra fare.

A bus conductor however said," Rab is patrolling the terminal, so there is no scope to charge higher fare."

But a passenger, Farruq Hossain, said. "We know we have to pay extra fare to go home one the eve of the eid, yet we forget the sufferings only for a reunion with our near and dear ones."