After nearly five days—three days of Eid vacation and two days of the weekend—people started returning to the capital from the countryside yesterday (Saturday).

During the daytime, relatively fewer vehicles ferrying capital-bound passengers entered Dhaka, though sunset onwards, the numbers had spiralled. The holidaymakers are rushing back as the weekday begins on Sunday.

On Saturday, bus and launch terminals as well as railway stations witnessed crowds of people coming back to Dhaka from their hometowns, though the pressure of passengers was still low. Government offices and courts will start functioning from today (Sunday). Transport officials said the return to Dhaka from the countryside started yesterday (Saturday) night in full swing. However, students of many institutions, including schools, colleges and universities, are expected to return later as their vacation is for a longer period.

However, those who returned to the capital complained that bus fares were still high compared to normal times. Some passengers complained that transport workers had charged fares much higher than usual, taking advantage of the inadequate number of modes of transport.

A few hundred people from the country’s south-western parts had to suffer at Paturia and Aricha ghats for hours because of the shortage of buses bound for Dhaka, Savar and Nabinagar.

On Saturday, during a visit to the Gabtoli terminal, the gateway to the capital, it was seen that people from various areas were returning to the capital. On the fourth day of Eid-al-Azha, however, crowds were not much noticeable at the bus terminals. However, those who returned will mostly go to their workplaces.

Workers at bus counters said the rush of returnees will increase from the afternoon and the pressure on them will increase after the evening. It appeared that over the week, the pressure of passengers coming to Dhaka also rose.

In general, people were returning more comfortably as there is not much traffic congestion on the highways. One of the bus supervisors from Darshana Delux (a southbound bus) told The Independent that there were no traffic snarls on the road. Fewer vehicles were seen on the highway, though it took a little longer at Daulatdia Ferry Ghat.

Kamal Uddin Ahmed, a passenger on the bus, said his whole family was celebrating Eid at his village in Chuadanga. He rued that he had to get back to Dhaka for work.

The launch terminals, too, witnessed crowds of returnees to the capital from their hometowns, though the pressure of passengers was still low. On the other hand, a good number of people was seen leaving the capital yesterday (Saturday).

At Kamalapur railway station, trains arrived in time. Though full of passengers, they were not overcrowded. Railway officials said the pressure increased from yesterday (Saturday) night.

Meanwhile, ferry services on the Shimulia-Kathalbari route were disrupted for two hours from around 4am to 6am following poor navigability on the Padma. This caused immense suffering to passengers.

“Ten small ferries are in operation but more than 300 vehicles are waiting on both sides of the river,” said Khandaker Shah Khaled Newaz, assistant general manager of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA).

“Dredging works are going on to resolve the problem of navigability. The ferry services will soon return to normalcy,” he added. He also said 87 launches and 400 speedboats were ferrying passengers on this route.

But those who did not leave the capital to celebrate Eid in their hometowns or villages did have a good time as the capital is free of crowds. City bus services were fewer in the capital.

Other modes of transport, especially rickshaws, dominated the streets. The people enjoyed the Eid vacation as the streets were by and large empty or there was little traffic.