At Mohakhali Terminal, passengers bound for Greater Mymensingh reported being charged double or even triple the usual fare — flatly contradicting the Road Transport Minister’s claim three days prior that some operators were actually “offering discounts”.
The failure of buses to arrive on schedule forced many to risk their lives travelling in open trucks and pickups.
Desk report : The initial ease of this year’s Eid travel has dissolved into a familiar nightmare: hours-long waits, soaring fares, and overcrowded buses as passengers across Bangladesh endure the worst of the holiday exodus.From Chandra’s gridlocked highways to southern routes slowed by delayed buses, the disconnect between official assurances and reality has never been clearer.Despite Road Transport Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam’s mid-week assurances that “no extra fares are being charged”, passengers on the eve of the festival tell a different story.
Muslima Jahan Shetu, a journalist and researcher, shared a harrowing account of her journey from Dhaka to Barishal.Charged Tk 2,000 for two tickets — nearly double the standard fare — she was forced to wait hours at a metro station with her 3-year-old daughter for a bus that never arrived on time.When a vehicle finally appeared, it was a “dilapidated minibus” from a different operator.
Angry passengers detained the vehicle, prompting the operator to send a larger bus about three hours later.That bus, not owned by the company either, suffered two tyre bursts on the way, further delaying the journey and leaving her child ill from the heat and exhaustion.Posting her experience on social media, she challenged the minister: “I have provided all the evidence. Now I want to see what action is taken.”
The situation is particularly dire for those heading to northern and Mymensingh regions, where traffic congestion has been compounded by the aftermath of the Nilsagar Express derailment in Bogura.While those travelling toward Chattogram reported a relatively smoother experience, the southern routes have seen significant delays.As the seven-day public holiday hits its peak, the disconnect between official reports of “comfortable travel” and the reality of the road continues to widen.
While the one-month-old BNP government initially earned praise for maintaining the interim administration’s strategy of extended public holidays, the system buckled under pressure by Wednesday.A surge in garment workers heading home, combined with heavy rain, triggered severe gridlock at Chandra and the Jamuna Bridge approach, with suffering reaching a peak on Thursday.
At Mohakhali Terminal, passengers bound for Greater Mymensingh reported being charged double or even triple the usual fare — flatly contradicting the Road Transport Minister’s claim three days prior that some operators were actually “offering discounts”.
The failure of buses to arrive on schedule forced many to risk their lives travelling in open trucks and pickups.
While the death toll from road accidents remains lower than in previous years, fatalities continue to mar the holiday.
The railway network, usually a reliable alternative, faced its own setback following the Nilsagar Express derailment, which disrupted schedules and added to the woes of north-bound travellers.In contrast, the waterways remained relatively disciplined.Despite the typical holiday rush at ferry terminals, the chronic congestion of the past was largely avoided.However, tragedy struck at Sadarghat, where a launch collision with a trawler left one person dead and another missing.
While gridlock was the primary concern, it was ultimately the surge in fares that defined this year’s Eid.Rabiul Alam’s repeated assurances that “no extra fares are being charged”, the ground reality told a far bleaker story.On Thursday morning, Mohakhali Terminal descended into chaos.Desperate passengers reported that standard Tk 200 tickets were being traded for Tk 800 to Tk 1,000 inside the terminal.
Many bus operators allegedly closed their official counters to create an artificial shortage, only to have staff solicit passengers privately for vastly inflated prices.”They ushered us inside and demanded Tk 800. How are we supposed to go home?” asked Humayra Begum, a Mymensingh-bound passenger.Another traveller, Salam Mia, noted that fares for his route had jumped from Tk 250 to Tk 1,000.
The Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samiti (Passenger Welfare Association) observed that the current level of “rent anarchy” has shattered a 20-year record.The disconnect between the minister’s narrative — claiming some buses were even “offering discounts” — and the public’s ordeal has triggered widespread criticism and “trolling” on social media.
In a belated attempt to restore order, mobile courts conducted raids across Dhaka and other regional hubs on Thursday, including Chattogram, Tangail, and Khulna.A government handout confirmed that fines totalling Tk 76,000 were imposed for overcharging.However, with thousands still stranded and paying four times the legal rate, the administrative response has been widely viewed as insufficient.
The initial ease of the holiday exodus vanished by mid-Wednesday as the notorious Chandra gridlock ensnared hundreds of thousands of travellers.The congestion delayed Dhaka-bound buses from northern districts, triggering a domino effect that collapsed departure schedules for Thursday’s trips.For chemist Moudud Hossain, a journey to Thakurgaon turned into a 24-hour endurance test.After paying Tk 6,000 for two tickets on a “Heritage Express” sleeper — double the standard fare — he arrived at the counter on Wednesday night with his wife and 7-year-old daughter.
“The bus was scheduled for 10:30pm, but it didn’t leave until 4:30am on Thursday,” Moudud said.Despite the driver detouring through Dhamrai and Manikganj to bypass the Chandra bottleneck, the bus only reached the Jamuna Bridge at 1:00pm.”We had to break our fast on the roadside in Dinajpur’s Birampur. By the time we reached Thakurgaon at 9:00pm, everyone was utterly exhausted,” he added.
Systemic mismanagement and a massive surge in travellers led to a 10km-long tailback at the Chandra Triple Intersection on the Dhaka-Tangail Highway on Thursday morning.The congestion was exacerbated by haphazard parking, auto-rickshaws driving against traffic, and passengers boarding vehicles in the middle of the road.
Similar scenes played out on the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway, where overnight rain left sections of the road waterlogged and muddy.
Narrowed lanes at Board Bazar, Bhogra Bypass, and Chandana Chowrasta — caused by illegally parked vehicles — stifled traffic flow, turning the holiday exodus into a crawl.
“I waited with my wife and child from Wednesday evening until the hailstorm forced us back home,” said Masud Rana, a garment worker stranded at Chandra. “We returned at dawn on Thursday, but by 9:30am, we still hadn’t found a bus. There are simply more passengers than available transport.”The shortage of buses forced many to pay exorbitant fares for risky rides in pickups and trucks.
Sawgatul Alam, an inspector with the Naojor Highway Police, attributed the crisis to the simultaneous closure of garment factories on Wednesday afternoon.He confirmed that the resulting “human wave” caused “unbearable congestion” stretching from Mouchak to Chandra and the Kaliakair Bypass.
The derailment of the Nilsagar Express in Bogura on Wednesday cast a shadow over Thursday’s operations, leaving northern-bound commuters in a state of uncertainty.Originally scheduled for a 6:45am departure from Kamalapur Railway Station, the train finally began its journey at 11:45am — a five-hour delay that rippled through the day’s rail schedule.By the time the Nilsagar departed, every carriage was packed beyond capacity.Despite official safety warnings, the roofs were blanketed with passengers, and even the air-conditioned compartments were crowded with standing commuters.
Despite the overall decrease in casualties compared with previous years, several fatal accidents have marred the Eid exodus over the past 48 hourTragedy struck in Bogura on Wednesday morning when a microbus carrying 12 passengers crashed into a road divider and burst into flames.
The driver and two female passengers were killed, while all others on board sustained injuries from the impact and subsequent fire.
In Chattogram’s Patiya, a head-on collision between two passenger buses on Wednesday morning claimed the life of a betel leaf trader.
Later that afternoon, a father and son were killed in Rajshahi’s Puthia after their motorcycle was crushed by a drum truck.
In Lakshmipur, a young motorcyclist died at midnight after crashing into a tree uprooted by a storm.The fatalities continued into Thursday morning in Naogaon’s Raninagar, where a brick-laden tractor veered off the road and hit a tree.Both the driver and his assistant were killed in the crash, while another individual was left injured.
