With advanced tickets of buses, trains and other vehicles having been sold out, home-bound passengers are left to suffer in the port city. Many people were seen waiting at the Chittagong Railway Station for tickets, but the rail authorities could not provide them with tickets as there were none.
According to sources, the Bangladesh Railway has arranged special trains and added extra bogies to all trains departing from Chittagong. However, the tickets had already been sold out last week. The railway officials at ticket counters are reported to be rejecting complaints about non-availability of tickets. Despite the ticket crisis, many people have already left for their villages to observe Eid-ul-Azha. The coinciding of Durga Puja and Eid has encouraged people to enjoy the festive season with their family in their ancestral homes.
Though all government institutions, banks and other financial institutions will remain closed for the holidays, the Chittagong Port will continue operations under a special management.
Sayed Forhad Uddin, secretary of the Chittagong Port Authority, said, “The Chittagong Port will remain open during the Eid holidays. The port will remain closed from 8 am to 4 pm on the Eid day. On other days, the port will remain operative under a special management.”
Meanwhile, the cattle market in the port city is bustling with activity with the approach of Eid-ul-Azha. Sacrificial animals, such as cows, goats and other ‘halal’ animals, including camels, are being sold on the
market. The regular cattle markets of the port city at Bibirhat and Pahartali Sagarika are full of sacrificial animals that arrived from other parts of the country.
The same is the case with five irregular cattle markets—Soltgola rail crossing, Katgarh Bazar, Still Mill Bazar, Karnaphuly Shah Amanat Bridge and Komol Kantir Haat.
According to cattle traders and buyers, the price of sacrificial animals is at least 10 per cent lower than the previous year. They attributed this to apprehension of extortionists at different points of highways by RAB and other law enforcement authorities.
-With The Independent input
