Every year during the two Eids, around 10 million people leave the capital Dhaka to return home and share the joy of the festival with their families. This journey of celebration is often overshadowed by unbearable suffering and hardship along the way.
It is true that when such a huge number of people leave Dhaka within just two or three days, maintaining an orderly system becomes difficult for the government and law enforcement agencies.
However, past experience shows that if preparations and precautionary measures are taken in advance, Eid travel can be made much more comfortable for citizens.
The sacred festival of Eid al-Fitr will be celebrated just a month after the new government assumed office.
Given the poor condition of highways and possible shortcomings in fuel management, ensuring a hassle-free Eid journey will be a major challenge for the government. Reports published by Prothom Alo in recent days suggest exactly that.
There are fears of traffic congestion and suffering on nearly every major highway—Dhaka–Barishal Highway, Dhaka–Tangail–Rangpur Highway, Dhaka–Sylhet Highway, Dhaka–Chattogram Highway, and Dhaka–Mymensingh Highway.
Potholes, illegal roadside markets, toll plazas, BRT lanes and slow-moving vehicles could all cause traffic jams and hardship. We believe coordinated and well-planned initiatives should be taken along each highway corridor.
During this year’s Eid travel season, there have already been complaints that passengers are being charged more than the official fares through various tactics on buses, launches and other modes of transport. Some operators are reportedly keeping ticket counters closed and selling tickets on the black market under the pretext of a fuel shortage.
In other cases, fares are being increased by adding so-called “service charges” or “special trip” fees. Even in online ticket sales, middlemen have been seen taking advantage of the situation.
Such opportunism by unscrupulous groups in the transport sector only adds to passengers’ suffering. Low-income people are the worst affected by such fare chaos. A significant portion of their hard-earned money ends up in the pockets of transport syndicates.
Yet the situation could be largely controlled if the government conducted regular drives to enforce fare regulations, operated mobile courts and increased strict monitoring.
Road accidents are another major concern during Eid travel. In the days before and after the festival, traffic pressure on highways increases many times over. Tired drivers, overcrowded vehicles, reckless speed and unfit vehicles together raise the risk of accidents.
In many cases, the movement of three-wheelers on highways, driving on the wrong side of the road and violations of traffic rules further increase the danger. Every year during Eid, many people lose their lives and countless others are injured. This is not merely a matter of statistics; for many families it becomes a source of lifelong grief.
To ensure smoother Eid travel, the government has announced several measures. These include restricting the movement of trucks and covered vans on highways for specific periods, strengthening drives against unfit vehicles, operating mobile courts to prevent overcharging and introducing special measures to ensure order in the sale of train and bus tickets.
Initiatives have also been announced to deploy additional law enforcement personnel, strengthen traffic management on important roads and set up passenger information centres.
While these initiatives are positive, the main question remains implementation. In Bangladesh it is often seen that actual measures fall short of announced plans. Greater use of technology could also help address the problem.
Making online ticketing systems more transparent and reliable, increasing CCTV surveillance and using modern technology in traffic management could make it easier to curb irregularities.
Eid travel should not become a symbol of crisis. Advance preparation and proper management are the most urgent priorities.