Sunday, October 6, 2024

Train ticket scalpers active ahead of Eid

Hundreds of people have been desperately trying to buy a train ticket standing in long queues for hours when some are comfortably wangling it from black marketeers.
Despite different measures taken by the authorities to stop irregularities, black marketeers are still active at Kamalapur railway station. They are offering home-bound people tickets at a rate a few times higher than the actual price.
Law enforcers yesterday arrested three persons red-handed while selling tickets on the station premises, the second day after Bangladesh Railway started selling advance tickets ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr.
The arrestees are Anwar, 17, Tuhin, 15, and Samirul Islam, 25, said the law enforcers.
Anwar and Tuhin were selling four tickets of Dhaka-Chittagong route at Tk 2,000 against the actual price of Tk 660 at around 12:00noon, said Rab officials.
Another arrestee Samirul was selling photocopy of tickets of Turna Express (Dhaka-Chittagong), said officials of intelligence branch of Railway Nirapatta Bahini.
According to a pre-announced schedule, train tickets for August 14 were sold on Sunday, while tickets for August 15 were sold yesterday, tickets for August 16 would be sold today, tickets for August 17 on August 8 and the tickets for August 18 on August 9.
Allegations are rife that some corrupt railway officials and countermen, who are selling tickets, are giving tickets to the black marketeers.
“A counterman kept me standing 12 minutes in front of his desk as he was talking over phone. He was informing the person on the other side that tickets of AC cabin are available,” said Obaidul Islam, who got tickets of Dhumketu (Dhaka-Rajshahi) after standing in the queue for around 10 hours.
“After hanging up the phone, he prepared four tickets and kept those in his pocket,” Obaidul alleged.
Another passenger Abul Kalam Azad, who was standing at the front of the queue of ticket-seekers for Rajshahi, said, “According to the noticeboard, tickets of 252-seat Dhumketu Express are supposed to be sold from Kamalapur. But, after selling tickets to around 25 to 30 customers, the counterman suddenly announced that the tickets are sold out.”
A couple of minutes after the beginning of sale at 9:00am the counterman said over 150 tickets have been sold or booked, said Mamun-or-Rashid, a ticket-seeker of Nilsagar Express (Dhaka-Nilphamari).
Talking to reporters, Kudrat-E-Khuda, assistant director of Rab-3, said a syndicate of addicts are out to sell tickets in the black market. They are doing this to collect money for taking drugs.
Asked, Md Sardar Shahdat Ali, divisional railway manager (DRM) of Bangladesh Railway, said, “We are keeping sharp vigilance to resist black marketing of tickets. Adequate number of law enforcers have been deployed in the station to resist the offenders.”
Due to unavailability of tickets, he said, the demand has gone much higher than the capacity of the railway.
According to the Kamalapur station noticeboard, as many as 7,733 tickets were sold for August 15 of different intercity routes yesterday.
Meanwhile, advance tickets for most of the reputed bus services for August 14, 15 and 16 are almost sold out.
Samad Mandal, manager of Hanif Paribahan, said, “Tickets to northern and southern regions for the three days were sold out two days ago. Now, we are selling tickets for August 17 and 18.”
Khandaker Enayet Ullah, secretary general of Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan Samity, told The Daily Star, “Apart from some reputed companies, tickets of other small bus services are available.”
The state-run Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) will start selling advance tickets from today.
Private launch services will start selling advance cabin tickets on August 10, while the state-run Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation will start the sale from tomorrow.

-With The Daily Star input

Related News

Malaysia to accept 18,000 workers who missed deadline

Says Asif Nazrul News Desk : dhakamirror.com Malaysia has agreed to receive 18,000 Bangladeshi workers who previously missed a deadline to enter the country, said Dr Asif Nazrul, adviser to the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment. “Now, the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare of Bangladesh will work with our Malaysian counterparts to establish a ... Read more

3 killed as gas cylinder blasts at restaurant in Keraniganj

News Desk : dhakamirror.com At least three restaurant workers were killed and several others injured in a gas cylinder blast on Saturday evening at ‘Ghorowa Hotel and Restaurant’ at Ramer Kanda in Keraniganj in Dhaka. Three other shops were also burnt in the incident as the fire broke out from the restaurant. The victims are ... Read more

Ex-president Badruddoza Chowdhury dies at 93

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Former president Professor AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury, popularly known as B Chowdhury, passed away in the early hours of Saturday (5 October). He was 93. The former president breathed his last at the Medical College for Women in Uttara at 3:10am, Jahangir Alam, press secretary of the former president, said in a ... Read more

Two students drown in Mirsarai waterfall

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The bodies of two young tourists were recovered from the deep well of Rupashi Waterfall in Chattogram’s Mirsarai yesterday (4 October), hours after they were reported missing. The deceased were identified as Musfiqur Rahman, 21, and Mahbub Rahman Mustakim, 21, both residents of Narayanganj. “A search and rescue team from the ... Read more

Railway to operate special passenger trains on Dhaka-Cox’s Bazar route during Durga Puja holidays

News Desk : dhakamirror.com In anticipation of increased demand during the Durga Puja and weekly holidays, the Bangladesh Railway has decided to operate seven additional special passenger trains on the Dhaka-Cox’s Bazar route. These trains will run from 10 October to 13 October, supplementing the two regular trains already operating on the route. The director ... Read more

Bangladeshi expat wins Tk 65 cr in lottery in UAE Big Ticket draw

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladeshi expat Abul Monsur, hailing from Chattogram, has won Dh20 million, or over Tk65 crore, grand prize with the latest Big Ticket draw in the United Arab Emirates. Abul Monsur Abdul Sabur, a 50-year-old based in Abu Dhabi, has been buying the raffle draws’ entries since 2007. In its latest edition, ... Read more

Motorcycle sales tumble to seven-year low

Mahfuz Ullah Babu Rising costs, consumers’ weakening purchasing capacity, and adverse policy treatments blamed The hope of manufacturers for a scaled-up motorcycle market – to reach a million units a year by 2027 – now seems to be fading away. The economic slowdown, coupled with a sharp rise in costs and selling prices, has instead ... Read more

Metro rail to begin operations on Fridays too

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) is set to launch metro rail services on Fridays soon. Currently, the services are closed on Fridays. MAN Siddique, managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited, told media on Monday that the company started preparatory work on the day to start services on ... Read more

Academic activities in all public universities in Bangladesh remain stalled

Shahin Akhter Amid the academic activities coming to a near halt in most public universities triggered by a wave of resignation from top officials, the Secondary and Higher Education Division on Thursday in an order asked the universities tackling the situation to allow a senior teacher to carry out the administrative and finance related tasks ... Read more

Sundarbans to reopen for fishers, tourists from Sept 1

News Desk : dhakamirror.com After nearly three months of closure, the Forest Department will reopen the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest and a UNESCO world heritage site from September 1 (Sunday). From that day, fishermen and tourists will be able to enter the world’s largest mangrove forest after obtaining a permit from the Department ... Read more

Govt decreases fuel prices

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The government reduced octane and petrol prices by Tk6 per litre, according to a press release by the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources issued today (31 August). Meanwhile, the price of diesel has been reduced by Tk1.25 per litre. Starting tomorrow (1 September), the new price for octane will ... Read more

All educational institutions to reopen on 18 August

News Desk : dhakamirror.com All educational institutions under the education ministry have been instructed to resume academic activities from Sunday, August 18, 2024. The announcement was made through an office order issued by the ministry on Thursday. The order said that following the approval of the chief adviser the educational institutions were instructed to take ... Read more

Interim govt led by Dr Yunus sworn in

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Nobel Peace Prize winner and globally acclaimed economist Professor Muhammad Yunus was sworn-in as the chief adviser to the interim government of Bangladesh Thursday evening (8 August). President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath of office to the 17-member interim government. Leaders of various political parties including BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, Jatiyo Party, Krishak ... Read more

Dr Yunus to lead the interim government

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus will be the chief adviser of the interim government, said a press release of Bangabhaban yesterday. The decision came after a meeting on the formation of the interim government between key organisers of the anti-discriminatory movement and President Mohammed Shahabuddin. The heads of the three armed ... Read more

Mainul Islam made new IGP

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The government on Tuesday appointed Traffic and Driving School commandant Md Moinul Islam as the new inspector general of police. Public Security Division of the home ministry issued a gazette notification in this regard on Tuesday. The decision came a day after the fall of Sheikh Hasina government amid mass uprising ... Read more

Curfew to end on Tuesday morning; all offices, educational institutions set to open

News Desk : dhakamirror.com An ongoing curfew will be in effect from Monday midnight until 6am on Tuesday, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate. Starting Tuesday morning, all government, semi-government, autonomous, semi-autonomous, private institutions, factories, schools, colleges, madrasas, universities and all educational institutions in Bangladesh will remain open, a press release of the ISPR ... Read more

Internet likely to face disruption for 12 hours today

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Internet connectivity in Bangladesh will face partial disruption for 12 hours from this morning because of maintenance of 1st submarine cable, said Bangladesh Submarine Cables PLC (BSCPLC) in a press release. The statement said from 6:01 am to 6:00 pm, the consortium has scheduled maintenance for a land cable fault near ... Read more

Chess Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman passes away

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman passed away at a hospital in the city after suffering a heart attack during the 12th round game of the ongoing National Chess Championship at the Chess Federation on Friday. Zia bhai is no more. He breathed his last at around 6:00pm at Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital,’ confirmed ... Read more

Ending GPA-5 era, SSC results to be published with English letter grades

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exams will no longer be evaluated under the Grade Point Average 1-5 scale but rather be graded with English letters. A meeting of the National Curriculum Coordination Committee with the Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury approved the new evaluation framework on Monday (1 July). “There are ... Read more

Over 1.04 crore animals sacrificed on Eid-ul-Adha this year

News Desk : dhakamirror.com A total of 1,04,08,918 animals were sacrificed across the country on the occasion of the holy Eid-ul-Azha this year. As many as 3, 67, 106 more animals were slaughtered this year compared to previous year, the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock said in a press release on Tuesday. This year the ... Read more