Journey of the holidaymakers from Dhaka and its adjacent areas to different districts began on Wednesday ahead of Eid-ul-Azha amid schedule disruptions of the trains.

The passengers, specially the elderly people and the children, suffered at different rail stations due to delay in their journey amid hot weather.

On the other hand, long route bus operators said that the main rush of the holidaymakers would start from today.

The state-owned Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation will start its six-day special bus services throughout the country from today.

BRTC authorities and the private bus operators fear that about 217 cattle markets, likely to be set up beside the highways, may disrupt traffic.

Eid-ul-Azha is scheduled for June 17, with the three-day holidays starting on June 16, followed by two weekly holidays on June 14-15.

The Bangladesh Railway under the railways ministry started to operate 20 additional trains under its Eid special services from Wednesday to Eid day and through seven days after the Eid.

Since Wednesday morning, a large number of people started to leave Dhaka from the Dhaka Railway station at Kamalapur in the capital. 

Different trains were seen leaving the station behind their scheduled times. 

On the day, the Karnaphuli Commuter on the Dhaka-Chattogram route left the station around three hours behind the schedule at 11:22am instead of 8:45am while the Mohanagar Provati on the route left the station one and a half hours behind its schedule.

The Joyantika Express on the Dhaka-Sylhet route left around two hours behind the schedule at 12:55pm instead of 11:15am and the Parabat Express on the same route left around two hours behind its schedule.

Rangpur Express on the Dhaka-Rangpur, the Ekota Express on the Dhaka-Panchagarh and Silkcity Express on the Dhaka-Rajshahi routes left the station around half an hour behind their schedules.

Dhaka divisional railway manager Shafiqur Rahman said that some trains ran behind schedules on the first day of the Eid special services.

Due to attaching and detaching coaches from different trains, some trains might ran behind schedules, he said and added that within tomorrow the situation would become normal.  

The total number of intercity train tickets from Dhaka to other districts is 33,500 each day under the Eid services.

Four cattle special trains will also run between June 12 and June 14.

Meanwhile some long route bus operators in the three inter-district bus terminals in the capital said that the main rush of the holidaymakers would be seen between June 13 and 15.

Hanif Enterprise general manager Mosharraf Hossain said that as weekly holidays fall on June 14 and 15, the holidaymakers would start their journey then.

He said that due to cattle markets on the highways, traffic gridlock could be seen on different highways.

BRTC’s Eid special services would continue until June 18 across the country.

Earlier on May 30, at a meeting at the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority headquarters, the authorities disclosed that 217 cattle markets are likely to be set up beside the highways.

They gave instruction to the authorities concerned for not letting the markets to occupy the space of the highways.

Around 83 kilometres of highways and roads under the Roads and Highways Department have been damaged in tidal surge and flood due to heavy rain, caused by the recent cyclonic storm Remal.

Instruction was also given to repair the roads and highways before the Eid.