Crowds of homebound people at the stations for train tickets. Waiting for hours for the desired ticket, but still no match. The exact opposite is the case at the Gabtoli bus counters in the capital. Not enough passengers coming. That is why every bus has to leave late. Even if the passenger is late in the hope, the hope is shattered. Being forced to leave the bus empty seat. Transport officials claim that such a passenger crisis situation has not occurred in the last 40 years before Eid.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .On Wednesday (April 26) at the Gabtali bus terminal, many people started arriving in Gabtali from the early hours of the morning, packing their belongings. Some of them are running alone, while others are running away with their family members. There is no rush to get tickets as there is no crowd of passengers. However, the passengers complained that they have to collect long distance bus tickets for more money than other times. Besides, they said that even though the extra fare was collected, the bus was not leaving at the scheduled time.
Majnu, a ticket seller for the South Bengal Express, said there were only a few days left before Eid and passengers were still not available. The bus has to be left empty. Even after leaving the bus late, 5-10 seats remain vacant.
However, advance tickets for all their buses were sold out from Thursday (April 26) to Saturday (April 30), he said.
Nilia, a student of Dhaka University, will go to Jessore to celebrate Eid with her family. He left the hall at 8:30 am and came to Gabtali. He has bought a ticket for Golden Line transport with 150 rupees more than other times.
This student said that the university is on holiday, so he is going home to celebrate Eid with his family. The bus is not leaving at the scheduled time even if the ticket is sold at a higher fare. The bus was supposed to leave at 9:30 in the morning, it was 11 o’clock. No one can say when he will leave. He is waiting next to the counter with his belongings.
