Around 7 million people leave Dhaka for sweet home

Dhaka: As Ramadan is drawing to its end with the sighting of new moon within a day or two, lakhs more holidaymakers departed the capital by buses, trains and water vessels for their native villages to share the joy of Eid-ul-Fitr with their near and dear ones enduring all the troubles of travelling.
Police sources said around seven million people are expected to leave the city to celebrate the Eid at their respective village homes.
Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the biggest religious festivals of the Muslims, will be celebrated in the country either on June 26 (Monday) or June 27 (Tuesday) subject to the sighting of the Shawal moon.
"Most of the holidaymakers have already left the city. I think several lakhs people will leave the city by Saturday night. That means total around six million people will leave the city by Saturday morning," said Deputy Commissioner (Media) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Masudur Rahman.
Kamalapur Railway Station, three major bus terminals and Sadarghat Launch Terminal were over crowded as the home goers thronged there to catch their respective transports to reach destinations.
Sources at the Kamalapur Railway Station said a total of 35 trains left the station for different destinations till 6:00 pm on Saturday.
Most of the trains left the station on their scheduled time.
Only a Rangpur-bound train left the station after around five hours of the scheduled time while another Jamalpur-bound one departed the station after delaying three hours.
Sources at the Sayedabad Bus Terminal said most of the buses left the terminal heading through Dhaka-Chittagong road for different districts, including Noakhali, Feni, Chittagong, Cox's Bazar and three hilly districts maintaining almost schedule times.
However, some of the buses made delay to start journey for the northern districts in the morning.
In Gabtoli Bus Terminal, huge rush was seen in the morning and several busses left the terminal 30-60 minutes late, but the scenario changed after 9:00 am, said assistant commissioner of Darus Salam Zone Traffic Police Rawshonul Hoque Saikat.
He said very few buses left the terminal till 6:00 pm as most of the home goers left Dhaka earlier due to long holiday, he said.
The usual bustling city traffic, meanwhile, has eased much with the exodus of millions of people, giving those stayed back a greater breathing space.