Editorial
Travellers' woe
Same story repeated every year
IT is good to know that the Bangladesh Railway has started to sell tickets in advance in response to huge number of people leaving Dhaka to celebrate Eid at different destinations. This is one occasion when many families leave Dhaka to be with the near ones at their ancestral homes. As a result, with the news of advance selling of tickets going around, travellers have begun to queue up at Kamalapur and other railway stations for tickets since 5 in the morning. It only speaks of the urgency of reaching home in time.
It is further good news that Bangladesh Railway authorities have decided to introduce separate trains from September 24 till the day before Eid and from the day after Eid till October 9. Though it apparently sounds good but our experience says that every Eid time travellers face all sorts of problems including shortage of tickets, which are again found in black market.
There seems to be no end to the suffering of the long distance passengers, especially during the holidays. Railway being the cheapest mode of transportation at such times, the rush for tickets turns out to be a regular feature. And with the advent of Eid a group of corrupt insiders start to hoard tickets to sell at high price during the last hours to desperate passengers. A great deal has been written on this corrupt practice but nothing tangible has happened to turn the tide. The corrupt elements are still active and we believe last minute passengers will have to collect tickets from them, if the authorities fail to contain them.
The road transportation sector also experiences all sorts of corrupt practices during the holidays. Not only prices of bus tickets increase manifold, the maddening rush and non-availability of tickets cause a lot of pain to the passengers. This time around some motorbus owners have claimed increasing toll collection by the extortionists to be the reason why bus fare had to be increased, but we believe it is not the only reason. The relevant authorities will have to ensure that it is not a way of justifying the price hike. We hope the authorities responsible for maintaining law and order will remain extra vigilant to ensure safe journey of the people during the Eid time.
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