Trucks charging Tk 1,000 per person from Aminbazar to Rangpur

Trucks are charging Tk 1,000 per person to take them from Savar’s Aminbazar to RangpurProthom Alo

Trucks are charging Tk 1,000 per person, to take them from Savar’s Aminbazar to Rangpur. This came to notice at Aminbazar Bridge area on Friday afternoon.

Mason Md Towhidul Islam and family started for Dhaka’s Gabtoli from Narayanganj at 5.00am on Friday. The clock stroked 11.00am by the time they reached Gabtoli.

Finding no bus, they walked up to Aminbazar at around 1.00pm. Towhidul Islam’s village home is in Nilphamari’s Jaldhka. He will travel there via Rangpur.

Towhidul Islma said, “Finding no bus at Gabtoli, we moved towards Aminbazar to see if we can find something. But, we cannot find anything. There are only trucks left now.”

At around 1.15pm Towhidul found a Rangpur bound truck at Aminbazar. That truck was charging them Tk 1,000 per person. However, Towhidul and his family didn’t comply to travel on a truck for such a high fare.

Towhidul Islam said, “I don’t know how we will reach home. But, since we have started, we’ll reach home some way or other.”

Failing to get buses at Gabtoli, thousands of people were seen moving towards Aminbazar on foot today (Friday). As there are no vacant seats on buses, basically people are leaving Dhaka on trucks and pick-ups from Aminbazar area.

Md Hasan Ali, Md Babu Mia and Md Shariful Islam work as rod 'mistri' in Narayanganj. Like Towhidul they also came to Gabtoli from Narayanganj at 8.00am.

Rangpur-bound bus Khalek Paribahan asked for Tk 1,600 per person. Yet, the bus will start the journey on Saturday. Except for this one bus, they didn’t find any other tickets at Gabtoli.

So, after waiting for more than four hours, they started walking towards Aminbazar. Shariful Islam said, “We are walking to see if we can manage something.”

When a truck asked for Tk 1,000 to go to Rangpur, Shariful Islam and Hasan Ali were ready to board for that fare. But, Babu Mia, who is senior to them didn’t comply. Many people hopped on that truck to reach their destinations.