Long-route buses not plying from Gabtali due to sparse passengers
The ticket counters of various bus companies are open, but there are almost no ticket sales. Employees and staff of bus companies have idle time as there are no passengers.
On the first day of BNP's three-day blockade programme, this scene was observed at Gabtali inter-district bus terminal in the capital on Tuesday morning.
Not a single long-distance bus departed from this terminal due to a lack of passengers, a fact confirmed by staff from five bus transport companies.
Between 8:30 and 9:30 in the morning, the correspondent found that transport workers seated at the ticket counters, awaiting passengers. However, the entire terminal was nearly empty, with only hawkers, transport company employees, and transport workers present. There were no passengers.
Few long-distance buses were observed on the road in front of the terminal and at the depots in the vicinity. Normally, these areas are bustling with parked buses. According to Shubho Islam, a ticket seller, a Hanif Paribahan counter had been open since 5:30 in the morning. He mentioned that four of their buses were scheduled to depart by 9:00 in the morning, but none of them had left.
The buses from this Hanif Paribahan counter typically operate on the Dhaka-Khulna and Dhaka-Barisal routes.
On the other hand, not a single bus from Shohag Paribahan had left from the early morning until 9:30 AM. Ujjal Hossain, a ticket seller, explained that their buses were prepared as they would face financial losses if the buses were halted, but the absence of passengers remained a glaring issue.
A similar situation was witnessed with Sakura, Shyamoli NR, and Royal Express Transport. According to the transport companies, by 9:30 AM, five buses of Sakura Paribahan, seven buses of Shyamoli NR, and four buses of Royal Express were scheduled to depart for destinations such as Khulna, Patuakhali, and Barisal. However, not a single bus left, primarily due to the absence of passengers.
The counter manager of Sakura Paribahan said, "Not a single person has come to purchase tickets since the morning. So, how can we operate the buses?" Nevertheless, he mentioned hearing about two buses of their company departing from the Sayedabad terminal.
Swapan Chandra Das, the counter manager of Shyamoli NR Paribahan, informed Prothom Alo that a total of seven buses were scheduled to depart from Kalyanpur and Gabtali, but there were no passengers.
Meanwhile, leaders and activists of Darus Salam thana Awami League are staging a sit-in programme in front of Gabtali terminal to counter the BNP's blockade. They are chanting various slogans against BNP and Jamaat, denouncing violence, killings, conspiracies, and chaos.
The BNP has initiated a three-day blockade programme, which began this morning. The party has declared a nationwide blockade of roads, railways, and waterways, scheduled to continue until next Thursday. Jamaat-e-Islami has also announced a similar programme.