To facilitate unhindered tour of Eid celebrants, Bangladesh Railway will start selling advance tickets from July 20 while long-haul bus operators have decided to sell tickets for northern and southern districts from July 14. Meanwhile, launch owners said they would formally start selling advance tickets 10 days before the biggest religious festival of Muslims. Advance train tickets ahead of Eid
ul-Fitr will be made available from July 20, said Railways Minister Mujibul Haque as he addressed a press briefing at his secretariat office in the capital on Sunday morning. Train tickets for five days before Eid will be sold between July 20 and 24, he said, adding that return tickets from the railway’s west zone will be sold from July 27. This time, a person will be allowed to buy a maximum of four tickets while five percent quota will be preserved for VIP and railway staff members. “Each day, 18,000 tickets will be on sale for travelling from Dhaka to other destinations. To check black marketing, age and gender of passengers will be added to tickets,” the minister mentioned. Tickets of July 24 will be sold on July 20 while those of July 25 on July 21, July 26 on July 22, July 27 on July 23 and ticket of July 28 will sale on July 24. Return tickets for east and west zones will be sold from July 27 to July 31 for July 31, August 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. Minister Mujibul said, “We have taken necessary steps to run trains on schedule for the convenience of passengers.” Five control rooms—one at Railway Bhaban and four others at BR regional offices—will be set up to monitors rail services during the holy fest. Security will also be beefed up to ensure safe movement of passengers, he added. Eid holiday for important officials of the railway have been cancelled. If needed, vacation of other staffers will be cancelled. The minister said as many as 205 locomotives have been fixed while 166 compartments will be added to intercity trains. Rapid Action Battalion, police, RNB and GRP forces will be deployed to ensure passengers’ safety. Meanwhile, bus tickets will be offered for sale from July 14 (15th Ramadan). Vehicle owners at a meeting at Bus-Truck Owners Association at Gabtoli made the decision, said Salauddin, spokesperson for the association. The authorities have agreed in principle not to overcharge passengers and asked all stakeholders to collect the government-fixed fare only. They will also arrange additional bus services to meet extra pressure of passengers during the vacation. Operators will sell seven days’ advance tickets to give some sort of comfort to passengers. There is no advance ticket-selling system at Mohakhali bus terminal meant for Tangail, Bogra, Mymensingh and Sirajganj districts. On the other hand, Rafiqul Islam Talukdar, deputy general manager (operations) of Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation, told daily sun that they would fix dates for selling advance tickets this week. Mohammad Sahabuddin Milon, vice-chairman of Bangladesh Inland Waterway Passenger Carriers, said they are likely to start selling advance tickets on different routes 10 days ahead of Eid. Naval police will be employed in key areas to ensure security of homeward people, said Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan on Sunday after a meeting at the secretariat regarding passenger safety on waterways during Eid. No passenger will be charged extra Tk 2 for entering Paturia-Daulatdia and Mawa-Kawrakandhi terminals. Three new ferries will be added to the fleet on Paturia-Daulatdia route to ensure hazard-free journey, Shajahan observed. None but goods trucks will only be allowed to use the route three days before and after the festivity. All types of goods vessels, sand-laden vessels and bulk-head operation will be suspended five days before and after Eid.
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