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'Wrong day' to travel

Harrowing tale of a launch passenger

Star Report
When Jalal Khan began his return journey to the capital from his hometown Barisal on Saturday night, he had no ideaofthelong ordeal that lay ahead of him.
The routine return to Dhaka where Jalal works as an office assistant in a private firm turned out to a neverending detour of inconvenience.
It was all because he probably chose a "wrong day" to travel.
Jalal was scheduled to reach Dhaka after an overnight journey on Parabat-2 from Barisal. The launch duly reached Sadarghat Launch Terminal at 5:00am yesterday but was not allowed to anchor.
"I saw a group of hooligans throwing brick chips from the terminal platform at our boat," Jalal said.
It was not only Parabat-2 but three other large passenger launches, Parabat-7, Surovi-8 and Kamal Khan, which reached Sadarghat from Barisal around the same time. They were not allowed to dock.
"While the gang threw brick chips at the launches, the law enforcers were driving away the ground staff of these launches, who were requesting them to let the boats anchor at the terminal, "Jalal said.The launches then made frantic efforts to find an alternate spot to anchor. There were over 10,000 passengers on board those boats, he said.
"I don't know about the other ones but our launch could finally anchor somewhere near Fatulla in Narayanganj. It anchored about 50 to 60 feet from land, and a fleet of dinghies helped us ashore in exchange for Tk 50 each," Jalal continued to describe his ordeal.
“At usual times this ride would have cost us no more thanTk 5,” said this frequent traveller.
"After this I walked one kilometre or more before I got a rickshaw. When I reached English Road I saw law enforcers forbidding CNG-autorickshaws to travel to Sadarghat launch terminal."
Jalal's ordeal was, however, far from over. After nearly an hour's rickshaw ride, he reached Fulbaria bus terminal, where he found hundreds of launch passengers like him trickling in from different directions as their launches had also failed to anchor at Sadarghat.
There were only two buses at the terminal. Those who boarded these vehicles soon found themselves out of luck when some "unidentified" men arrived there and forced the drivers of the Gazipur and Mirpur-bound buses to cancel their trips, Jalal said.
All these travellers had to find alternate modes of transport but there was hardly anything available. Some managed to hire the few rickshaws around while others started the long walk to their destinations.
Jalal's rickshaw ride had cost him Tk 150 thus far and he negotiated a furtherTk 50 ride with the rickshawpuller to take him up to Farmgate.
Jalal returned to Dhaka to join office after three days of leave.
He could not care less what day he chose to travel. But he now knows the price he paid for his right to travel as a free man in a free country.