Mass Eid exodus from Dhaka to begin Thursday

The mass exodus of the homebound people from the bustling capital Dhaka is expected to begin on Thursday as it is the last workday of government, semi-government and many private offices befor the Eid-ul-Fitr.

Experts and officials said city dwellers in their thousands are set to rush towards their respective village homes on Thursday afternoon to celebrate the festival with their near and dear ones, reports UNB.

They, however, said the frenzied rush of home-goers will reach its peak on Friday and Saturday as one-fourth of the total holidaymakers to head for their native villages in the two days amid the worry of sufferings on the highways, train stations and launch and ferry terminals.

Meanwhile, some holidaymakers have already left the capital to avoid possible hassles while many have sent their families to village homes much ahead of the Eid vacation since the educational institutions remain closed.

Eid-ul-Fitr, the largest religious festival of Muslims, will be celebrated either on Sunday or Monday subject to the sighting of the Shawal moon.

Talking to UNB, General Secretary of National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads and Railways Ashish Kumar Dey said around 1.20 crore people are expected to leave Dhaka and its adjoining areas during this Eid.

Of them, he said 55 per cent (66 lakh) will go home by road, 25 per cent (30 lakh) by water and 20 per cent (24 lakh) by trains.

Ashish said an estimated 65 lakh holidaymakers are supposed to leave Dhaka by road, waterway and rail in eight days in between April 20 to 28. “Over 12 lakh people will head home alone on April 28 (Thursday).

Besides, he said the remaining 55 lakh people will leave Dhaka in between April 29 and May 1-2.

Ashis said the pressure of holidaymakers on the road is much higher this time than in the past. “The number of train passengers decreased by 5 per cent due to lack of railway’s capacity.”

In the last four days ahead of Eid, he said 60 per cent (33 lakh) out of 55 lakh homebound people will go home by road. “The remaining 25% (13 lakh 75 thousand) and 15 per cent (8 lakh 25 thousand) people will go home by waterways and rail respectively.

A large portion of the 33 lakh road commuters will travel in various types of vehicles, including buses, private cars, microbuses, local buses, trucks, pickup vans and motorbikes.

As the number of different modes of vehicles, including unfit ones, will increase on the roads, Ashis said the rate of accidents may also increase this time.

Similarly, the launches will carry 5-6 times more passengers than their capacity.