The Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) has fined Shohoz.com, an online ticketing platform of the country, Tk 2 lakh after finding evidence of its mismanagement in selling tickets of Bangladesh Railways. The DNCRP organized a hearing on Wednesday after receiving a  complaint form Mohiuddin Rony,  a 4th year student of Dhaka University's Theatre and Performance Studies Department, over irregularities in ticket sale by Shohoz.com.  The hearing on Roni’s complaint was held around 10 am at  the meeting room of the DNCRP , said DNCRP Director General AHM Shafiquzzaman at a press briefing  on Wednesday. As per the decision of DNCRP, Roni will get 25 per cent of this penalty (Tk 50,000). Read: Lone rail protestor forced to call off program at Kamalapur Mohiuddin Rony and representatives of Shohoz.com were present during the hearing. Talking to reporters, Shohoz's lawyer Mirza Ragib Hasnat said they are not satisfied over the verdict. "We will challenge against it," he said. Rony who was conducting a one-man protest against corruption in the country's rail administration, was forced to come off his daily program at Kamalapur Station on Tuesday. Instead he submitted a memorandum containing his demands and grievances to the director general of Bangladesh Railway. He has been protesting alleged mismanagement and corruption at Bangladesh Railway since before Eid ul Azha, after falling victim to the dodgy e-ticketing system. "Kamalapur Station authority stopped me from entering the station territory yesterday, and today when I went to submit my memorandum to the director general of Bangladesh Railway (at Rail Bhaban), Ansar-police tried to block me from entering the building," Rony said. He had been showing up at the station since July 8, with a 6-point charter of demands to reform the railway system. There  is no doubt he would be viewed as an irritant, whether in Kamalapur or Rail Bhaban, especially since the fraudulent e-ticketing system had already been uncovered by the authorities, and steps were underway to completely replace it. His demands are to stop passenger harassment by e-ticketing platform Sohoz.com, to prevent the black market chain of ticket selling, to stop the online booking system altogether and facilitate an easier, more transparent way to buy any type of ticket for the masses, to increase the number of trains to meet demand, and finally to form strong monitoring cell that truly ensures quality service on behalf of BR, right down to the price of goods like water, food etc... in the train.

Bangladesh Railway will start selling advance train tickets on July 1 on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha. Advance tickets of July 5 will be available on July 1, said Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan at a press conference at Rail Bhaban on Wednesday. Also read: Main Eid congregation to be held at Nat’l Eidgah at 8am Besides, the advance tickets of July 6, 7, 8 and 9 will be available on July 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively. Besides, the selling of return tickets will begin from July 7, he said. The return tickets for July 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 will be available on July 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 respectively. He said advance ticket sale will start from 8 am through ‘Rail Sheba’ mobile app and e-ticketing on the internet. Ticket sale at the railway stations will begin from 8am and continue until 4pm. To reduce passenger pressure at Kamalapur station, advance tickets will be sold at six places in Dhaka- Kamalapur, Kamalapur suburban platform, Airport rail station, Tejgaon railway station, Cantonment, Fulbaria (Old Railway Station) and in six places in Joydevpur. Each passenger will be able to buy maximum four tickets. Also read: Traders urged to keep market stable ahead of Eid-ul-Azha The minister said six pairs of special trains will operate on this occasion and their rickets will be sold at the counters only. The total number of seats of trains departing from Dhaka per day  is 26,731, half of which will be available at ticket counters and half online. There will be no off day of intercity trains from July 4, six days before Eid to the day before Eid. No intercity train will operate on the Eid day, said the minister. Depending on the sighting of the moon, the holy Eid-ul-Azha is expected to be celebrated on July 10.