Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Friday claimed that this year's Eid journey has been free of traffic jams and public sufferings. He said this to reporters while visiting the overpass constructed at the capital's airport this morning. Quader said that instructions have been given to the officials concerned  to make the return Eid trip smooth and comfortable. Roads and Highways Department Secretary ABM Amin Ullah Noori, Bridges Department Secretary Manjur Hossain and senior officers were present at the time. Read more: AL-backed syndicates make Eid holidaymakers suffer with extortion, harassment: Rizvi Quader said that this year there is no suffering of travellors on bus, train, launch during the Eid journey.  The government has opened the Padma Bridge to motorbikes for the benefit of young people.

The situation on Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in Gazipur is better than the last few years.However, since this morning, there are crowds of home-goers at various important points including Chandana intersection on the highway and the pressure of vehicles is also very high.To keep the movement of vehicles smooth on the highway, the road is being monitored round the clock with the deployment of additional traffic police at important points including Chandana, Bhogra Bypass intersection, Board Bazar, and Station Road.There are certain routes with fewer vehicles and more commuters. Many said they have to wait for a long time for buses, and taking advantage of this, transport workers are charging extra fare.Buses on the Mymensingh, Kishoreganj, Sherpur, Netrakona and other routes are charging about one and a half times more than usual fare, they complained.Gazipur Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner (traffic) Mohammad Alamgir Hossain said, about 1,000 traffic police personnel, APBN members and rover scouts have been deployed in three shifts to maintain normal traffic conditions on the highway during this year's Eid journey.Special monitoring is going on to prevent unfit vehicles from plying the road. Some tow-trucks have also been kept ready at different points of the highway.

If the highway renovation work in Sirajganj is not completed soon, there are chances of massive traffic jam, and homebound Eid holiday makers would have to endure extreme difficulties. As construction work on the highway continues, district police have identified 14 high-risk areas. Proposals have been submitted to the authorities concerned for the renovation of 20 bridges spanning about 51 km of the Chandaikona highway from the west side of the Bangabandhu Bridge to Hatikumrul. There is risk of severe traffic congestion at the 14 high-risk points. Every year before Eid, all the vehicles carrying homebound commuters pass through the Bangabandhu Bridge-West Highway. As a result, there is extra pressure on this highway. Read More: Advance sale of train tickets for Eid travellers starts Friday It is expected that the roads on this route will be repaired by the second week of this month. Bus and truck drivers, in particular, say that if the work on the highway is completed, there will be relief during Eid journey. People of 16 districts of north Bangladesh use this highway to go home from Dhaka during Eid. Every day, 16,000 to 20,000 vehicles use this highway, and during Eid, 30,000 to 40,000 vehicles ply it. Work is underway to widen and repair the four-lane highway – connecting the west side of the Bangabandhu Bridge. It has already caused traffic congestion and slow movement on the highway. Besides, the north lane of the newly constructed Nalka Bridge has been opened, but the Dhaka-facing lane has been closed. Traffic is moving through the risky old bridge. The contractor, Akhter JV Project’s Manager Ekhlas Uddin said that discussions have already been held with the Sirajganj Superintendent of Police. Read More: Special train service on Joyedbpur-Panchagarh route for RMG workers for Eid: BR On the highway, potholes will be repaired soon. New four-lane roads have been opened in different parts of the highway. Officials of the local Roads and Highways Department said the renovation work on the risky points on the highway has been supervised. Badrul Kabir, officer-in-charge of Hatikumrul Highway Police Station, said two rounds of discussions were held among the district police, officials of SASEC-2, and officials of the contractor company. They have assured to complete the repair work soon. On the occasion of Eid, 10 mobile teams and 16 picket teams will work on the highway. In addition, mikes and digital sign will be installed. Sirajganj Traffic Inspector (Administration) Salekuzzaman Khan said they spoke to the district police regarding ensuring smooth flow of traffic before Eid. There will be 15 to 18 mobile teams on the highway. Work has already started to ease the traffic congestion. Senior police officials mentioned that arrangements have been made to make the Eid journey of the homebound people uninterrupted. Read More: Eid journey: Nat’l Committee demands bike ban on highways for 9 days

Bangladesh's National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads and Railways today (April 03, 2023) demanded a ban on motorbike movement on all highways for at least 9 days before, during and after Eid. The organisation also called for taking strict action to stop the movement of three-wheelers and charging extra bus fare on all inter-district roads, including highways, during Eid travel. The national committee President Haji Mohammad Shahid Mia and its general secretary Ashis Kumar Dey made this call in a statement. Besides, leaders of the civic organisation demanded to stop the movement of unregistered, defective and unauthorized vehicles on all roads and highways of the country. Read More: National Committee for taking action against lakhs of illegal vessels They also urged Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) to strengthen the operation of mobile court and law enforcement agencies, including police, to implement these demands. Emphasizing safe and hassle-free Eid travel, the statement said that the number of motorcycle accidents across the country is increasing at a geometric rate. Motorcycle accidents accounted for more than 40 percent of all road crashes last year. There is a fear of more mishaps during the Eid season due to the long-distance commute on these two-wheelers. Small and unsafe vehicles slow down larger vehicles like buses and trucks on highways and inter-district roads, the statement said. This increases the risk of accidents and traffic jams. Despite the government ban, various types of three-wheelers including battery-powered rickshaws and numerous locally made vehicles such as Nasimon, Karimon, Bhotbhoti and Alam Sadhu are plying the highways and inter-district roads across the country. Read More: National Committee for reducing metro rail fare by 50% Citing examples from the near past, the statement of the national committee alleged that on many roads, various transport companies charge commuters one-and-a-half to double the fare on every Eid trip. As a result, bus owners and workers earn extra money, but general people are suffering financial losses.

Bangladesh Railway will start selling advance train tickets on April 7 for Eid-ul-Fitr, said Railways Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujan on Wednesday. Nine pairs of special trains will run on different routes to ease journey of home-bound people during Eid, he said at a press briefing at the Rail Bhaban. Advance train tickets for April, 17, 18,19,20,21 will be available on April 7, 8,9,10, and 11 respectively while the selling of return tickets will begin from April 15, he said. Among the nine pairs of special trains—Chattogram Eid Special 1 and 3 will run on Chattogram-Chandpur-Chattogram route and Chandpur Edi special-2 and 4 and Dewanganj Eid Special-5 will run on Chandpur-Chattogram-Chandpur route, Dewanganj Eid Special 5 and 6 will run on Dhaka-Dewanganj-Dhaka route, Mymensingh Eid Special-7 and Mymensingh Eid Special-8 will run on Chattogram-Mymensingh-Chattogram route, Eid special 9 and 10 will run on Sylhet-Chandpur-Sylhet route. Also read: Eid-ul-Azha: Advance train ticket sale begins on July 1 All the trains will be available four days before the Eid-ul-Fitr and five days after Eid. Meanwhile, Sholakia Eid Special 11 and 12 will run on Bhairab Bazar-Kishoreganj-Bhairab Bazar route and Sholakia Eid Special 13-14 will run on Mymensingh-Kishoreganj-Mymensingh route on Eid day.  

Bangladesh witnessed 398 deaths on roads in 319 accidents in just 15 days during journey before and after Eid-ul-Azha this year. The accidents and deaths recorded on Bangladesh roads during Eid-ul-Azha were highest in the last 7 years, according to a report prepared by Jatri Kalyan Samiti, a passenger welfare organization. The report was presented by director general of the organization Mazammel haque Chowdhury Tuesday at a press briefing in the capital. Like every year monitoring cell of the organization prepared the report on accidents during Eid trips from July 3 to 17.  According to the report in 2016, some 248 lives were lost on roads in 193 accidents. From 2017 to 2021, every year the numbers of deaths remained between 250-300 while the number of accidents between 200-250. Mozammel haque Chowdhury said,” As there was no Covid-19 related restrictions this year the number of people travelling during Eid increased. Some 1.2 crore people left Dhaka during the Eid vacation while four crore more travelled between different districts.” During the same period, 25 people were crushed under trains in separate places. In 10 maritime accidents, 17 people died, 15 sustained injuries while three went missing. Jatri Kalyan Samiti prepared the report monitoring news published in widely circulated and credible national dailies, local newspapers and online. Read:3 bikers killed in Manikganj road crashes

Manikganj's Paturia ghat has been witnessing a huge rush since Friday morning, as thousands from Dhaka head home to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha with their near and dear ones.   However, the number of people and vehicles at the ferry ghat is less than previous years, with several people from the southern and southwestern regions preferring buses plying via Padma Bridge over water vessels.   On the other hand, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) is monitoring the traffic in the ghat area. A total of 20 ferries are currently operating of 21 vessels.   Read: Chaos at Paturia ghat as 300 cars wait to cross Padma   According to Shah Khaled Newaz, deputy general manager of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC), Aricha region, the pressure of passengers has increased since morning.   Around 6,000-7,000 vehicles, including 3,600 bikes, have crossed the Padma river through Paturia ghat in the past 24 hours.   Manikganj superintendent of police Golam Azad Khan said that additional police force has been deployed in the ghat area to maintain law and order. "CCTV cameras have also been set up."

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan has requested the Dhaka Rapid Bus Transit (BRT) authority to manage the construction works of the dedicated bus corridor between Dhaka airport to Gazipur to reduce traffic congestion on the highway and ensure easy and safe travel of garment workers during Eid-ul-Fitr holidays. He also sought support and cooperation of the government bodies, law enforcement agencies and BRT to keep the highway free from construction materials and makeshift shops and markets as such occupation narrows down the existing road and causes traffic congestion. The BGMEA chief made the call during a meeting with BRT Managing Director Safiqul Islam in Dhaka on Monday. High officials of BRT authority were also present at the meeting. READ: BGMEA wants illegal gas connections to be snapped BGMEA President Faruque Hassan urged the BRT authority to complete the Bus Rapid Transit project as quickly as possible to ease traffic congestion on the Dhaka-Gazipur highway and ensure that commuters can avail the full benefits of fast, efficient and comfortable mode of transport. He said a huge number of garment workers will travel from Gazipur and surrounding areas to their villages to enjoy their Eid holidays with their near and dear ones. "It’s very important to ensure hassle-free and safe journeys for passengers during the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr." The BGMEA President assured the BRT authority of cooperation in raising awareness among garment workers so that they move in an orderly manner during Eid journey to keep transportation easy for all.

Inspector General of Police Benazir Ahmed on Thursday directed the field level police officers to ensure safe movement of the people going home to celebrate the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr festival. “The safety of the people has to be ensured through coordination within each unit of the police,” the police chief said addressing virtually at meeting of senior police officers and specialized unit officials at police headquarters. The IGP directed the police officers to build an adequate security system through beat policing and community policing. Also read: Saidpur rail workshop racing to meet targets ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr He also asked the police members to follow the instructions of the government in using social media. He directed the specialized naval, industrial, highway and tourist police units to take adequate security measures in their respective jurisdictions on the occasion of Eid. During the meeting, AIG (Operations) Mohammad Ehsan Sattar placed security issues related to the upcoming holy Eid-ul-Fitr, shopping malls, banks and financial institutions, bus and launch terminals, and railway stations, Eid Jamaat and leisure center-centric security as well as traffic management and overall law and order.At the meeting, it was decided to deploy women and white-clothes police along with uniformed police in shopping malls, banks and financial institutions.Decisions of providing escorts for large financial transactions or money transfers were also taken at the meeting. The meeting also decided to ensure the security of the country's main Eid Jamaat, including the National Eidgah. Also read: BIWTA to construct another ghat in Zajira to ease Eid travel Passengers have been asked not to travel on the roofs of buses and trains and on boats at the risk of their lives. Additional IG Md. Moinur Rahman Chowdhury, Additional IG M Khurshid Hossain, DIG YM Belalur Rahman, DIG Md Haider Ali Khan and concerned officials were present at the meeting.

Railways Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujan has said only those who have purchased their tickets online for the Eid journey will be able to travel by train this year during the Eid-ul-Azha holidays.