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Mad rush home for Eid begins

Shaheen Mollah and MM Rahman
People of the capital have been leaving for their homes outside the city since Thursday evening to spend the Eid holidays with the mad rush for home gathered pace yesterday.
Today is the only working day between the Eid holidays and the weekend and many people managed a day’s leave today and left for their homes early negotiating numerous hassles on the way.
The mad rush home started Thursday evening and it is expected to reach the peak this evening. Bus terminals, railway stations and the launch terminal were bulging at the seams with people yesterday.
However, Bangladesh Railway authorities decided to sell fewer standing tickets saying it generates chaotic situation in trains. Hundreds of people failed to get standing rickets yesterday. Bus and launch operators are taking advantage of the situation raising the fares on various routes.
Abdul Wahed, 65, was seen rushing from counter to counter at Kamalapur Railway Station looking for a standing ticket to Trishal, Mymensingh. He said he feels sick on buses and needs to go by train.
Junayed, 22, with his sister Smriti, 18. went to the station to go to Kishoreganj. The also could not get standing tickets. A trip by train would have cost each of them Tk 100 whereas the bus ride would beTk260 each.
Stationmaster Shamsul Huq said there are no unsold tickets before Eid.
He said they stopped selling standing tickets on Dhaka-Lalmonirhat route yesterday. They also reduced the number of standing tickets on sale by 30-50 percent on other routes. He claimed standing ticket holders pose security risk and create problems for other passengers.
A number of streets in Old Dhaka witnessed long tailbacks as the onrush of people heading home via Sadarghat launch terminal clogged the streets.
Kamal, a garment factory employee of Mirpur, said, "It took me one and a half hours to reach the terminal from English Road, which usually takes half an hour."
Kamal paid Tk 200 for his trip to Patuakhali. Only a few days ago the fare wasTk 120.
Launches were seen carrying three to four times the number of passengers they are supposed to cany.
Employees of a tripledecker launch seeking anonymity said the launch has the carrying capacity of about 990 people but the day before yesterday it carried over 5,000 passengers.
Employees of launches said they charge the extra fare as they have to return to Dhaka with almost an empty launch.
Employees of bus services were charging more than the actual fare at Gabtoli, Mohakhali and Syedabad bus terminals yesterday.
Omar Faruq, 24, getting on a bus heading for Bagerhat, said he had to pay Tk 300 for his trip even though the fare is Tkl80.
Kamal, an employee of the bus service, said, "We did not charge more as the govern-_ ment fixed rate is7k 397."