The second biggest religious festival of Muslims, the holy Eid-ul-Azha, is knocking on the door once again. Eid-ul-Azha will be celebrated on June 17 (Monday). Sunday, Monday and Tuesday of next week are public holidays on the occasion of Eid. Before that Thursday is the last working day of this week. On the last day after office, the city dwellers started leaving the capital to celebrate Eid al-Adha with their loved ones. Many people are leaving Dhaka today to avoid the rush and suffering of the eve of Eid. However, the late afternoon rain has eased a bit on the Eid trip.

Ahead of Eid, the capital’s Sadarghat launch terminal saw a crowd of homebound people. People are leaving Dhaka by river to share the joy of Eid with their families. And rows of luxury launches are standing at the ghat to go to Chandpur, Barisal and Bhola. The cabins of the launches are not empty, the deck is also seen crowded with passengers.

Shipping and Communication Reporters Forum (SCRF) said about this year’s Eid journey, on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha, 200,000 people from Dhaka region will go to various coastal districts including Greater Barisal. But this time, since the Eid journey is only four days, there will be more pressure on boat traffic.

According to the data of the National Committee for Protection of Sea, Road and Railway, 95 percent of Dhaka’s seafarers will use the Dhaka River Port (Sadarghat River Port). A total of 180 launches will operate from Sadarghat Terminal under the Eid Special Service. Among these ships, 90 will leave Dhaka and 90 will arrive in Dhaka from different places.

A tour of the Sadarghat launch terminal area on Thursday (June 13) saw almost every launch loaded with passengers. Passengers have been crowding since noon to get a place on the deck. However, the launch workers are clamoring to pick up passengers.

They said that due to the Padma bridge, the pressure of passengers on the waterways has reduced a lot. But still many passengers are crowding from noon. Several launches have already left on different routes. The rest of the launches will leave till 9 pm.

Since today, the office-court has become a holiday, the crowd has started to increase, the people related to the launch said that today is the last working day before Eid. So the crowd increased. Many launches will rush to the destination from tomorrow morning as well. This may reduce the pressure on the last day on Sunday. Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) Assistant Director of Traffic Department. Suleiman said that the passenger pressure has decreased slightly due to the rain. But there are slightly more than normal times. BIWTA is warning passengers and drivers to keep in mind the inclement weather. It is advised to leave the launch if the amount of rain decreases.