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Advance Train Tickets at Kamalapur Station

Many return home empty-handed

Staff Correspondent
Raihan Abdullah stood in the long queue for advance train tickets for the second day yesterday, only to return home empty-handed again.
"My daily work has been hampered for two days as I have been trying to get tickets. Getting a ticket now is like owning a golden deer," said Raihan who was looking for tickets of trains on the Dhaka-Dinajpur route.
Like Raihan, many returned home empty-handed despite repeated attempts to get tickets in the last few days.
Tickets of October 1, 2 and 3 were distributed on Friday, Saturday and yesterday respectively, while tickets of October 4 and 5 will be sold today and tomorrow. Eid-ul-Azha will be celebrated on October 6.
Hundreds of Dhaka city dwellers thronged Kamalapur Railway Station
yesterday to get advance train tickets to celebrate Eid with their families.
Many stayed at the station overnight, while others rushed there early morning.
“I came to the station right after Fazr prayers. Nevertheless, I had to stand behind about 35 people, and could not get any ticket as the railway staff claimed the tickets were sold out," said Jashim Uddin, seeking tickets for trains on the Dhaka-Khulna route.
However, Bangladesh Railway is rhetorically stating about the demand for tickets being extremely high compared to its supply.
"Our capacity is limited, but the demand for tickets is increasing. This is why ticket crisis is intensifying," said Syed Jahirul Islam, director (traffic) of Bangladesh Railway.
A total of 25 percent of tickets are sold online, 5 percent are kept for VIPs and 5 percent for railway staff. So, 65 percent of the tickets are sold from counters, he said.
Meanwhile, those having secured tickets were in a cheerful mood in contrast to the gloomy atmosphere surrounding empty-handed people.
"I had to suffer a lot to get tickets. But all my sufferings were worth it as I will be able to celebrate Eid with my parents, " said Zahid Sourav, a Jagannath University student.
A person can purchase a maximum of four tickets from Kamalapur Railway Station. Around 20,000 advance tickets of intercity trains are sold daily.
Meanwhile, Government Railway Police held nine people on suspicion of selling tickets on the black market.
Private bus and launch operators have already sold out advance tickets, and will start running special services about three to four days before Eid depending on demand of the passengers.
Besides, Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) will start special services on October 2.