Abdus Sabur Sarkar, staffer of a private bank, went to Kamalapur Railway Station from Narayanganj's Fatullah around 6:00am yesterday to buy advance train tickets.

He, along with three other family members, will go to his village in Kurigram to celebrate Eid.

The ticket counters to sell advance tickets for July 6 were set to open at 8:00am, two hours later. And yet, Sabur was too late.

Interestingly, he was aware of such situations and came well prepared.

He actually wanted to buy tickets for July 7, which will be sold from 8:00am today, 26 hours after he had reached the station.

"Last Eid, I tried to get tickets for three days. So, I have experience, and that's why I've brought a lungi. There is a place for taking baths. I'll eat here too," Sabur told this correspondent.

Sabur, however, is still sceptical about getting tickets today.

Not only Sabur, around 400 to 500 people were seen at the station around 1:00pm yesterday, to buy tickets for July 7.

Some were sitting on the floor, and others were sleeping on newspapers. Tickets for northern districts are being sold from the station's main counters.

WHY THIS DESPERATION?

Sabur gave two reasons for bearing all this to go by train: relatively less fare and certainty about reaching the destination on time.

"Before coming here, I talked with a bus company. It sought Tk 1,500 for each ticket, while it's only Tk 510 for the train. Besides, I'm sure that the train will take me home on time," he said.

Many others are of the same opinion.

Although people's road journey to northern districts was relatively smooth last Eid, many had to spend hours on the road due to traffic congestion, caused by the huge pressure of vehicles.

MINISTER THINKS IT'S NORMAL

Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan yesterday visited the station, after taking part in a programme there.

He said they have taken several measures to make ticketing services efficient, and tickets are being sold from seven places.

"But many people are not getting tickets, which is normal. The media has already reported that around two lakh people gathered for only 6,000 tickets," he told reporters.

"We don't have the capacity to fulfil the demand. So, we have to accept it," he said. "We are trying to improve the situation."

Usually, Bangladesh Railway (BR) sells around 28,000 to 29,000 advance tickets for intercity trains every day -- 50 percent from counters and the rest online.

A total of 14,086 tickets were sold online, while 14,635 from counters between 8:00am and 6:30pm yesterday, said an official of Shohoz, which is providing ticketing services on behalf of BR.



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