Homebound people overcrowd Paturia ghat

On the eve of the Eid-ul-Azha, homebound Eid revelers overcrowded Paturia pontoon, on Tuesday.

Hundreds of bumper-to-bumper vehicles form a 2-km tail back ahead of Paturia pontoon, witnesses said.

To save time, homebound people are reaching the river port on foot.

The port authorities have been struggling since morning to board the vehicles bound for some 21 south-western districts of Bangladesh.

As the day progressed, the queues of the vehicles got longer and the ferry and launch docks got jam packed with travelers.

As thousands of people throng the pontoon, it became impossible for them to maintain social distance, a must-requirement to minimise the risk of Covid-19 infection.

Many buses are not abiding by the government's directive to keep 50 percent seats vacant amid the pandemic.

Tanzina, 27, was leaving Dhaka for her village home at Faridpur. She told the Business Insider Bangladesh that she arrived at the port by a bus from Gabtali bus terminal.

However, because of the congestion, vehicles cannot reach the port parking lot. “We walked about two kilometers to reach the pier. I did not expect this crowd today,” she said.

Another traveler, Aminur Rahman, said, “Every Eid, we suffer while going home. If there were a bridge here, we could have easily crossed over the Padma River.”

The pressure of homebound people and vehicles along Paturia-Daulatdia route has increased substantially before Eid, said Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation’s Aricha DGM, Zillur Rahman.

“There are 16 ferries plying for the convenience of the homebound travelers. All the pontoons are in operation. We are allowing emergency vehicles, long-distance buses and small vehicles to board the ferries on priority basis,” he said.